The Next Man Up | 10 TAKEAWAYS

If these were Ancient Greek times, I'd be summoning the help from the goddess Aceso right about now. She, of course, is the Greek goddess of healing.

The Devils could use her.

Taking Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes out of the lineup is gut-wrenching. What they mean and who they are to this team cannot be replaced and will take a full-scale team effort to fill the void of the elite 200-foot game that Hischier plays, and the point-scoring prowess of Hughes.

Especially down the middle of the ice the club will need to dig deep.

"It’s a great opportunity for other players to step in,” head coach Lindy Ruff said. “We’re fortunate we have (Dawson) Mercer who can play in the middle. (Erik) Haula can play in the middle. (Chris) Tierney can play in the middle. Michael McLeod has been playing well.

“It’s tough to replace what went out, but it’s a big opportunity for the guys that are stepping in.”

So while we wait for Hischier and Hughes to return, and because we are in modern times, we'll just have to summon the help of the Next Man Up.

"It’s a great opportunity for other players to step in,” head coach Lindy Ruff said. “We’re fortunate we have (Dawson) Mercer who can play in the middle. (Erik) Haula can play in the middle. (Chris) Tierney can play in the middle. Michael McLeod has been playing well.

“It’s tough to replace what went out, but it’s a big opportunity for the guys that are stepping in.”

So while we wait for Hischier and Hughes to return, and because we are in modern times, we'll just have to summon the help of the Next Man Up.

1.

When Jack Hughes went hammering into the boards, losing an edge as he tried to take a swing at his own rebound, the thud was hard. There's that immediate sinking feeling in your stomach. Please don't let this be devastating.

I think the entire league had that feeling. The NHL is better when Jack Hughes is playing, dominating the way he was.

The good news is, that it appears the worst-case scenario was avoided. Especially when you look at how Hughes went into the boards. Lindy Ruff's words were encouraging. Fortunate, was what he kept reiterating, which to me means it could have been a whole lot worse, based on watching Hughes slam into the boards.

We can debate whether it was a good idea for him to play one more shift, but, much like Hischier who did the same, it shows their competitiveness and their team-first wired brains. But an important point is also, that they both tried and then pulled themselves, knowing that even fighting through would do little to help their team. That too is a team-first mentality. 

No matter how little or much time Hughes isn't able to play, can you imagine the motivation he's going to come back with? He was on a torrid pace, weaving his way through the ice, making the best of them look silly. If ending last regular season with 99 points, one short of a hundred, left a burning desire and motivation for Hughes, imagine what it will be like when he comes back. No one pushes Jack the way he pushes himself.

2.

The loss of both Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier is a big blow. The 1-2 punch down the middle, the dynamism of both players in their unique ways are, in ways, irreplaceable.

But you have to try. 

And this is where we'll find out what this team is made of. You can't replace a Hischier and Hughes, but there is still an abundance of top-end talent and skill on the roster and that can't be discounted. But ice time which may have been more difficult to come by with Hischier and Hughes in the lineup, will be divvied out and with that, the opportunity to be a difference maker.

And Dawson Mercer will be, and has been, one of those players to step in and step up.

Without a point to his name before playing Chicago, Mercer finally broke free and scored his first goal of the season. It could not have come at a better time, the Devils will need more of that from him.  

If this is one of those cases where a player gets their first one, starts gripping their stick a little looser and the points start to wrack up, it's nothing but good news.

There's a lot of talent to go around. Yes, things will be different, but a team is built not just on the shoulders of two players, it's built on character from top to bottom. 

And this time right now will be the ultimate test of that.

3.

I don't know why I found this so funny, but if you listen to the radio broadcasts of the Devils games on the Devils Hockey Network Matt Loughlin has a segment during intermissions called Icebreakers. He tried to get to know players away from hockey, asking them rapid-fire questions.

During the last broadcast, Matt's guest was John Marino, who, in front of a microphone, is a man of few words, and had one of the most random answers to one of the questions.

Loughlin has asked many players the same question: If you could be an animal, what animal would you be?

We've had answers like lions, and tigers (sadly, no bears, so I can't make a Wizard of Oz joke here).

But Marino?

First, it took him some time to come up with an answer... to which he eventually came out with:

A dolphin.

I don't even know what to say as a follow-up!

4.

This has to be the best save of Vitek Vanecek's career, right?

What an incredible moment, without his stick, in full desperation, full extension, a Hail Mary leap.

Just 11 games into the season, have we seen what will be the best, most acrobatic save of the year by a Devils goaltender? It will certainly be hard to beat.

It's Martin Brodeur who holds nearly every goaltending record in Devils history. But Vanecek is likely to take the lead on at least one.

The win against Chicago was his 39th win with New Jersey, in his 60 regular season appearance with the club. 

One more win, and he'll pass Brodeur as the fastest goaltender to 40 victories in franchise history. 

Brodeur took 76 games.

5.

The first time I covered an outdoor game was the 2011 Heritage Classic between the Montreal Canadiens and the Calgary Flames in Calgary. It was February, and even for this Canadian girl, it was a cold like I'd never quite experienced in my life. I just hope conditions are a little more favorable when the Devils and Flyers meet at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 17. 2024.

It was neat to be in the stadium last week for the press conference involving all four teams that will participate in the two-day event. To see the outline of where the ice surface will be... I can't wait to see it all come to life.

Part of the 'coming to life' process isn't even in the game itself. It's an event, so there's so much around the game that becomes iconic.

And that's what General Manager Tom Fitzgerald first brought up last week when talking about his excitement to see his team on the main stage.

“It’s an event. It’s not just a game,” Fitzgerald said. “Who will be the most creative to walk off the bus and into the arena, the clothing, the character you dress up as. There’s so much to it. It’s a major event. Everybody, staff, coaches, families, not just the players, have this date circled.”

The entrances off the bus have become a part of the event just as much as the game itself. Those coordinated outfits that lean into the team name and origin tend to often steal the show.

What I can tell you is that there has been no decision made yet about what the Devils will do with their entrance. I've been told the guys have already been talking internally, toying with different ideas. Nothing has been settled on just yet, but they're firmly in the brainstorming process!

6.

It was Fitzgerald who had watched Max Willman the last few years and mentioned to Assistant GM Dan MacKinnon, who is also the General Manager of the Comets, that Willman was a player worth looking at.

Fitzgerald had seen Willman play in college and again when he played with Fitzgerald’s son Ryan in the Flyers organization.

I asked MacKinnon what it was about Willman that made him a player they wanted to bring in on a try-out at camp and he pointed towards two 'critical' things. First, and we caught a real glimpse of it on Sunday night, was Willman’s skating ability, MacKinnon calling him a great skater, who could add to the organizational depth of speed. Undoubtedly, if you're going to be successful in this system and with the players on this team, you need to have the proper footspeed.

The other reason, which is a little more technical, was Willman wouldn’t create an imbalance in the Utica system, as he is not qualified as an American Hockey League veteran.

Teams in the AHL can only dress a maximum of five veteran players in a game. Veterans are qualified by the number of AHL, NHL, and European elite-level games. When putting together an AHL game roster, it’s also a bit of a math equation, which is why having a player fall under a non-veteran status, even though he’s 28 years old, helps an organization overall.

Of the 18 skaters, goaltenders not included, only six players can qualify as veterans, that is, having played in 260 or more professional games. But that’s not it. One of those six players must have fewer than 320 professional games.

Hockey math.

The whole point of the rule is to make sure AHL teams don't stack themselves with players who have an enormous amount of professional experience, keeping the league more of a 'development league'.

MacKinnon shared that when they signed Willman to a PTO they felt “if he showed well in camp - which he did - we would have a spot for him in the organization.”

Added MacKinnon: “He’s a great kid who works extremely hard and plays with a lot of pace. He has been consistently one of our best forwards so far in Utica, along with (Justin) Dowling and (Xavier) Parent.”

7.

As we start to see players around the NHL explore the idea of wearing neck guards, I've been told the Devils are currently talking to manufacturers to see what the available options are. 

Neckguards will be made available through the team to any player who asks to wear them.

The movement comes after the devastating death of Adam Johnsson last month, when his neck was cut by a skate blade during a game in the Elite Ice Hockey League in the UK.

8.

Jesper Bratt was certainly the rookie in 2017 that no one saw coming. 

It seemed appropriate to bring up Bratt again today as the team prepares to face the Colorado Avalanche. 

The Avs were the first NHL team that Bratt faced in a regular season game on opening night in 2017. From the 162nd pick in the draft to the Devils opening night roster (and then some). It's a great story. 

On that night against the Avs, Bratt, then 19, became the lowest-drafted teenager to play in the NHL since 1995-96, before Bratt was even born. It was Roman Volpat (drafted 172nd in 1994) and Richard Zednik (249th also in 1994) who made their opening night rosters as teenagers as late-round picks. 

Fast forward seven years and 400 games later, and you couldn’t possibly think of the resurgence of the Devils without Jesper Bratt gliding alongside Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes.

9.

Seven players were drafted by New Jersey ahead of Bratt in 2016. 

Bratt was the first of them to play in the NHL.

10.

I seriously hope I'm not jinxing anything... and you can call me out if I do.

But the Devils are currently on the second-longest active streak of not being shut out by an opponent. The game against Chicago was the 96th consecutive game where the Devils have scored at least a single goal.

The longest active streak belongs to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have a streak of 157 consecutive games without being shut out.