DEVILS vs BLUES | PRE-SCOUT | GAME #10

Hey, Devils Fans!

Last night in MIN, the Devils had one of their better efforts of the season. And yes, they completed a “season-series sweep” against the Wild, picking up both wins in regulation! The Devils have won five of their last six since Oct. 20 (only loss vs. WSH) and are riding a three-game win streak. Now, as we get set for a quick turnaround tonight in St. Louis, against my former team, the Blues, it’s going to be essential for the Devils to start building some confidence in the second half of back-to-backs, as they’re already 0-1-1 in that situation so far this season (losses vs. ARI & vs. WSH). This storyline is certainly important, as the Devils have 16 back-to-back sets this season, the most of any NHL team.Dawson Mercer was so impressive in his sophomore season with the Devils last year (27Gs, 56 PTS). It's no secret that Dawson is not off to the start he, or any of us, wanted to see this season, as he's the last player in the top nine still seeking their first point of the season after the opening nine games. For me, because we are talking about a guy like Dawson, who competes the way he does, I am very optimistic that we will see a significant uptick in these numbers as he settles in this season. And remember, Devils fans, he is still only 22 years old! Just like I talked about with the Devils as a team and "Giving it Time to Breathe," nobody should be hitting the panic button on Merc. 

Separately, I want to take a moment to congratulate Chris Tierney on his 600th career game last night. As for Mercer, he continued his 173-game streak of consecutive games to start his career, the highest in franchise history (140 was the previous NJD record, set by Scott Gomez). Both of these milestones are outstanding!Be sure to join Erika and me for our pregame show tonight, starting at the same time as last night, 7:30 PM ET. Live from Enterprise Center in STL, we'll discuss Jack & Bratt taking over the NHL point leaderboards, the Devils' back-to-back sets this season, Schmid's season so far, Tierney's career, and cut-resistant gear.
-Sal