Dialed In | 10 TAKEAWAYS

Being home for a long stretch of time is always nice. Your own bed, being around your family, eating home-cooked meals, it's all things any player looks forward to over the course of a long, grueling NHL season. The Devils most recent stretch at home lasted nearly two straight weeks because their one away game was just across the river at Madison Square Garden and you're still sleeping at home the night before.

There's no place like home, right?

Especially when you end up going 3-1-1 on a five-game homestand!

But that doesn't mean entering a nice, long stretch at home can't also be a bit daunting. And that might have been a bit of where the Devils were, heading into the recent stretch. It was no secret that the teams home record wasn't where they wanted it to be, or felt it could be. So the five games at home was going to be a big test for this group.

And they handled it, really, really well.

It wasn't perfect. It never is. But this most recent stretch felt like the team took a collective step forward in their all-around play.

“I’m feeling good right now, I think we’ve seen real good growth from our guys," Sheldon Keefe said following the stretch of five games. "Really happy with this home stand. We left some points on the table there, for sure, but when I look at our overall process, we know we needed to fix our starts, our overall play on home ice, so having a five-game hoemstand, while that should have been something for us to be excited about, it was a bit daunting at the same time because of how weve played. It was let’s make sure we get this right.’ and through good chunks of that I liked out game."

We'll cover some of those things in this weeks edition of 10 Takeaways!

1.

We all love a Luke Hughes, little brother of the Devils locker room story, right?

I got a great one from Brett Pesce this week. Pesce sits in a locker stall right next to Luke this season. So, not only did they rehab together this early season, not only are they defensive partners, but they’re also stallmates.

That’s a lot of quality time together! And it doesn’t stop there!

“Me, Brenden Dillon and Luke sit next to each other during games and we have our own group chat, us three and it’s always going off. We’re like the Three Amigos in that corner! Just always chalking it out, whatever it is. There’s no old or younger, we’re all just buddies and care about each other.

“Luke keeps me and Dilly young,” Pesce said through a boisterous laugh. “It’s just a good mesh.”

“I’ll tell you what, there’s never a dull moment when you’re talking to Luke. That’s for sure. I love the guy, I’ve grown to really care about him. He just takes shots and he acts like we’re all in college and we’re just three buddies… but at the end of the day, that’s what we are. No matter what the age is. It’s been special so far.”

2.

The addition of Jack Hughes to the Devils penalty kill this season has been really highlighted this past week and rightfully so, It's taken Jack's already dynamic game to a new level, contributing in a way that maybe even surprised him a little bit.

And he's done it with what looks like ease, but it's also on the back of a lot of hard work and studying. Together, partnered with Jesper Bratt on the PK, the Devils have a dynamic duo and as Bratt explained to me this week, they've looked to another similar-in-style duo to learn from.

“We watch some guys like Toronto usually has Marner and Matthews killing (penalties) together, and then just good skating players who can go the other way as well," Bratt said of he and Jack's conversations. "I think that’s where we’ve clicked now. We want to pressure the puck. We’re skaters, we can put pressure on other guys so that’s kind of where I think our success has been. I’m excited. He’s obviously a lot of fun to play with so I enjoy us getting more ice time.”

And penalty killing is as much about the communication with your PKing partners as much as it is about disrupting the communication between the power play players on the side of the ice.

What does a player like Bratt ask of himself on the PK? Well, surely it's whatever bothers him the most when he’s on the PP.

So who is that player for Bratt?

Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand.

"He's been one of the toughest players that I know of to play against," he said. "I mean, how hard he pressures you, how good of a skater he is when you have the puck on the power play. I look to a player like that and say 'How can I be this player? How can I create as much miscommunication and slow the other team down and just be this tough to play against."

3.

I won’t lie, I had a moment where I was slightly concerned that Dawson Mercer’s Iron Man streak was going to come to an end… that deflection of the puck off his face, the blood on the ice and what it was going to take to get repaired... I just wasn't sure that we'd see him in the next game.

But shame on me, really. This is Dawson Mercer we're talking about who clearly has a way with being durable.

It took a combination of sixteen stitches, both on the outside of his lip and inside his mouth to get him all patched up.

Tonight in St. Louis, Mercer will play his 280th consecutive game which is the eighth longest iron-man streak in franchise history. His next target isn’t that far off, that is Aaron Brotten’s 288 games.

The longest streak is a ways off. That’s Travis Zajac who between September 26, 2006 and March 10, 2011 did not miss a single game, playing in 401 consecutive games.

4.

Things I didn’t know until this week: Sergei Brylin used to be neighbors with Jacques Lemaire. Sarge mentioned it this week when we were talking about Lemaire being announced as the 2025 Ring of Honor inductee.

One of the funnier stories that Brylin told me about living near Lemaire was the time there was a major snowstorm, and keep in mind this was before the use of cell phones on a regular basis. Sarge told me the story about how he remembers one day waking up to a massive overnight dump of snow that had left driveways and paths to the front door of your house covered with snow.

You knew you were in for the long-haul of shoveling yourself out, just to attempt to get yourself to where you needed to go.

Surely, Brylin thought to himself, there wasn’t going to be practice. Absolutely no way, how long would it take for everyone to free themselves of the dump of snow?

And again, remember, no cell phones, no email, communication happened at a much slower pace.

So, what did he do? Surely already convinced that practice must be cancelled with this amount of snow.

He took a peek around the corner.

And much to his disappointment, there was Jacques Lemaire, out in the snow, shoveling his own driveway, and knee deep in getting it done.

So, that was as good a signal as Brylin needed… practice was on, and he better get to work digging himself out of his house to make sure he got there on time too!

5.

Sheldon Keefe had an edict coming into the New Jersey Devils fold. He needed to get this team to play better defensively.

This last homestand in particular the Devils took convincing strides. In the five game stretch, they gave up just 90 shots.

They’ve been dialed in.

To Seattle, 19 shots. To Colorado, 24. To Toronto, 17 and to L.A., a whole 13 shots. To Chicago, 17.

Against L.A., the Devils held the Kings without a shot on goal for a whole 15:27 of the first period, the longest stretch without a shot for an opponent in a single period this season.

So, something is really starting to click for this group.

“I love where we’re at," general manager Tom Fitzgerald said on Monday. "Defending first. The way we play without the puck. Especially in the neutral zone. We used to be Swiss cheese. Letting teams through. Now we’re more demanding.”

I like how, before the game against the Blackhawks Sheldon Keefe joked he didn’t think it would be reasonable to expect this team to keep their opponent to just one shot on goal in the first period, night after night, the way they did to Toronto and L.A.

Well, his players went ahead and gave it their best shot… holding the Blackhawks to just three.

All of it though, is an amalgomation of the work that the team has put in to this point in the season. Nothing was going to change over night, things were going to take time to click, and it appears they have.

6.

Congrats to Stefan Noesen who will play his 400th career game on Tuesday night. He has been through an incredible journey to get to the milestone and it hasn't come without it's ups and downs. He was originally claimed off waivers by the Devils from Anaheim in 2017 and played the next 145 games of his career with the Devils before departing the club at the end of the 2018-19 season.

From there, it was the journey of all journeys. A couple cups of coffee between the Penguins, Sharks, Leafs and Hurricanes at the NHL level until the 2022-23 season. But much of his playing time came at the American Hockey League level, playing with their AHL affiliates, before winning the Calder Cup with the Chicago Wolves in 2022.

That led him to sign a contract with the Carolina Hurricanes that off-season, and he never looked back.

He had two of the best years of his NHL career at ages 29 and 30 with 36 and 37 points respecitvely.

He earned himself yet another NHL contract and was coveted in the off-season.

He returned to New Jersey this year and has been an integral part of the teams success. It's a story he's proud of. And it's given him perspective on the types of teams and people he wants to be around during his career.

"I've been through the trenches and back," Noesen told me back during training camp. "I went all the way down to the bottom and built myself back up. I've been through all of it. Some people see that in a good way, some people see that as 'Wow you've worked your (butt) off,' and others can be like 'Well, you were in the minors three years ago, like who are you?' and those are the type of people you weed out. Those are the type of people that don't have the right mentality going into a team. Building culture is all through caring, caring about one another. Because if I care more about you than myself, that will go a long way."

7.

You just know when a player knows that their goal didn’t count. It’s written all over their faces.

Just like it was the other night, immediately after Jesper Bratt scored what would have been an awesome, over-the-shoulder, bat of the puck, had it not been for a high stick.

The picture caught immediately after proves it.

8.

The expectations are clear.

9.

I think what's also so important about what Tom Fitzgerald said in the above quote is that it doens't just stop and start here in New Jersey. The winning culture and how you approach your day-to-day extends all the way down through to the Utica Comets.

There are times this season when Sheldon Keefe has been asked about a player who has been called up, what he knows abotu them, what the coaching staff down in Utica has told him, and he'll always preface that he too watches Utica games when he has the chance, he's always keeping his eye on every aspect of this team, because it doesn't start and stop just with the Devils. It's an over-arching umbrella.

When Fitzgerald was asked about re-assigning defenseman Simon Nemec to Utica earlier this season, he offered this insight that I believe aligns with exactly what the expectations are here in New Jersey and they're being carried over to the AHL club as well.

"The reality is, it’s a meritocracy here man. We’re here to win. If you can’t help contribute, you’re not going to play," he said. "A young player like that, if he’s not playing, he’s not sitting. We have the luxury to send him down. He doesn’t need waivers."

"There is a demand to go down and work on the things you need to work on," he added. "Be better aware of your surroundings and the people around you. It’s not about offense. We don’t need offense. We need guys to defend and be harder to play against, and really thrive in that area. The coaches down there know exactly what they need to do, but at the end of the day the individual has to want to do it. And he has. His attitude has been great. He’s working hard. We’re really happy about that. When we do have injuries, it’s going to be next man up. Him or someone else. It’s who’s playing well down there that can help us."

It's a really important message and not only directed at Nemec. Where the Devils are in their team-building process leaves no room for anything but your best, there is no room left to cut any corners.

This is a team in the here-and-now.

10.

With the return of Nathan Bastian to the lineup, Nathan Légaré was sent back to the Utica Comets. But for a player who had just a quick stint up in New Jersey, he made the most of it and had some really strong showings.

For the Quebec native, it couldn’t have come at a better time in the Devils schedule to make his debut and spend some time in New Jersey. Not only was he going to be making his NHL debut, but it was going to be against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. It's a rivalry big enough for anyone to get up for, but I hadn't realized the added element to an already incredible moment for someone making their NHL Debut.

Légaré was also facing off against one of his best friends since childhood: Alexis Lafrenièreee

“We were on the same team growing up, since we were 10 years old,” Légare told me. “We grew up just one street apart. We were always in front of his house playing hockey on the street.”

In fact, they grew up one block away from each other. So, for him to be able to be on the ice in his first NHL game, against his best friend, in a rivalry game, was kind of mind-blowing for him.

And now just for Légaré but their entire families as well.

“After the game, my dad was looking at us together and was like ‘I can’t imagine, this is crazy. All these years we were talking about, more like dreaming about, seeing you play together’ it felt like it wasn’t real. It was really, really special.”