Each Other's Cheerleaders | 10 TAKEAWAYS

Another week in the books for the Devils and this one sure was a good one. Two shutout wins through Western Canada and a really solid showing in the loss against the Calgary Flames.

It was also yet another good opportunity for this group to have some bonding time. First starting the season in Prague, then a jaunt through Western Canada with a day off in beautiful Banff, Alberta, and this group is really starting to gel together.

And as the bonds increase off the ice, it resonates on it as well. And that's certainly what we're starting to see from Sheldon Keefe's group. And you can tell they're having fun doing it too, being everyone else's biggest cheerleaders.

They're all in this together and aren't shy about pumping each other's tires.

This is where we start in this week's 10 Takeaways, presented by Ticketmaster.

1.

Great story from Johnathan Kovacevic about what it’s like to work with Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen.

He says they’re the defense's biggest cheerleaders in-game.

“Both of our goalies are the best talkers; it’s fun. Sometimes you’ll make a good play, and you’ll hear Marky or Jake like right away, ‘Atta way, Kovy!’ they’re always hyping you up back there. They’ll communicate the important things too, but sometimes they’re the best cheerleaders back there.

"I love making a good play and the puck is moving up the ice and they’re like hyping you up behind you. We’ve got great goalies and great guys in net."

2.

Speaking of Kovacevic, it was Erik Haula and Stefan Noesen who pushed him into the center of the stretch circle after the Wednesday practice. Kovacevic is set to go up against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, the team he was traded from, to New Jersey over the summer.

3.

Last season: one shutout after 72 games.
This season: three in 15.

Along with the goaltending tandem of Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen, the entire team has been all-out, full buy-in to commit to the defensive side of the puck and trust that it won’t come at the expense of their offensive game.

Because it hasn’t. See: Nico Hischier, the most defensively sound forward, leading the team in goals.

Fifteen games in, it hasn’t been perfect, but there’s a lot to like. And part of that has to come from the players seeing things work in real-time and with real results.

“It’s been a lot of new stuff for us, but we can see the benefits of it," Tomas Tatar said. "We had a very tough schedule at the start with a lot of learning, tough schedule, but we somehow managed it, and now it’s time to grow and be better every day; that’s what we’re here for.”

4.

Jake Allen said he had been watching carefully Jacob Markstrom’s most recent games. He wanted to enter his next game with a couple of the qualities he was picking up on from watching his tandem partner.

"I tried to take a page out of Marky’s last two games," he said. "I felt he played a lot more calm than previous games and he looked great in his last two games. I try to take a page out of that book."

Jake then went out and posted a shutout against the Oilers.

It just goes to show that no matter how long you’re in the league, no matter how much experience you have, you’re there because you’re always learning and always willing to try to get better.

5.

Athletes, they’re just like us.

I got a good laugh out of Brett Pesce describing missing the trip to Prague as having FOMO. I mean, really, who wouldn’t?

6.

I asked both Nico Hischier and Jonas Siegenthaler about the Banff mountains, where the team got to spend a day off enjoying a trip up the gondola to the top of the mountain, knowing very well what the answer would be.

Swiss Alps or Banff mountains?

It’s incredibly beautiful up there, but perhaps an unfair comparison to the Swiss Alps and even more unfair to ask about it. Naturally, the Swiss Alps won out as the better mountains. I mean, you can’t blame them. Plus, the Alps are about twice as high.

7.

Sheldon Keefe talks a lot about still getting to know his club. He’s new, and there are a lot of new players, and it takes time to learn as a team and get to know the individuals. As Nico Hischier came shooting out of the gates this season, with his 10 goals and 16 points in 15 games, Keefe has learned maybe a little more about Hischier than he would have thought.

“Surprise is not the right word; I think I had a pretty good perception of him," Keefe said. "But I guess, just the way he scored and how he scored in the early going. I maybe discounted some of his offensive abilities. I knew he was a good player, but he’s made a lot of unique plays. Not even just the goals but the way he collects the puck, the way he can find his way through traffic.”

8.

That goal by Timo Meier against the Edmonton Oilers? The one with the great flip of the puck from Dawson Mercer for the assist?

What was going through Meier’s head?

“Make sure you catch the puck!” he laughed.

9.

A couple of prospects are doing exciting things around the globe.

Right-wing Arseni Gritsyuk is currently leading the Kontinental Hockey League in points with 21 points in 20 games (8G-13A), while in Quebec, Matyas Melovsky has a whopping 21 points in 11 games (7G-14A), good for tied for second on his team, although the player he’s tied with has played six more games than him.

Meanwhile, over at Assat, Lenni Hameenaho is second in scoring with 18 points in 19 games and is the team's top goal scorer with nine goals.

10.

Unfortuantely, with the start of the season in Utica, where the team has gone 0-8-1 to start, it was time to make a change. Ryan Parent was elevated to interim head coach of the Utica Comets on Wednesday as the team looks to get back on track. Making the change now gives Parent and the Comets time to get the season back on track.

I've had the pleasure of working with Parent before and getting to know him. He's incredibly personable, a terrific communicator, and is really well-liked by his players. He's been around this group too for seven seasons. I'm looking forward to seeing what he's able to do and the type of responce he can get out of the group.

Also something to note of the changes in Utica: the addition of Eric Weinrich as an interim assistant coach. Weinrich has always kept a close eye on the Devils defensive prospects as a development coach and is beloved by those he's watched over. Luke Hughes, Seamus Casey, and Ethan Edwards, all products of the Michigan Wolverines, had talked about how much fun they would have when Weinrich came to visit them; they'd all go out for breakfast together and called themselves 'The Breakfast Club'. Like Parent, he knows a lot of the kids currently in Utica; he's been around them for development camps and has a good pulse of the players.

He's also been through it all, behind AHL benches before and as an NHL player. He'll be a really good resource for Parent as they take over the Utica bench today on an interim basis.