DUCKS vs DEVILS | PRE-SCOUT | GAME #29

Hey, everyone!

I was impressed with how the Devils came out and competed in Columbus after Wednesday night's thriller against Boston. They got on CBJ early, responded any time the Jackets gained momentum, and closed the game out with a strong effort.

After last night's 6-3 W, the Devils are now looking at an 8-2-0 record in their last 10 games! Boy, these points have been crucial for them in staying in the mix throughout the Metro division and Eastern Conference standings. They’ll have another big 2 PTS on the line in tonight’s matchup with the Ducks at home, which kicks off the Devils’ 5-game homestand at the Rock.
The Devils’ individual milestones just kept on coming last night! Jack Hughes led the way with his second-career hat trick, opening up the game with the earliest goal of his career and of the Devils' season, that being just 47 seconds in, then wrapping up the scoring with 47 seconds remaining in the game.

For Jack, his 100th career goal (2nd goal of the game) made him the fastest Devil to 100 goals in franchise history.
Impressively, Jack became the 85th player in NHL history to reach the 100-goal milestone before turning 23 years old, and, only the 10th American-born player to achieve that feat.

Who was the last NHLer to have a hat trick in the same game as his 100th career goal, you might ask? Jesper Bratt! (March 19, 2023, in Tampa Bay).

Last night was also Jack's 24th career 3-point contest, already tying him with Travis Zajac & Wilf Paiment for the 6th most in franchise history. This being Jack's 8th 3-point game of the season, it also already tied his career-high from last season for his most 3-point games in a single campaign.

That’s all for Jack's milestones (for today!), but, the milestones last night did not end there. A nod goes to the Captain for his 300th career point, which he recorded on the Devils' 5th goal of the game.

Jesper Bratt recorded a primary assist on both Jack and Nico’s milestone goals, as part of his fourth-career 3-assist outing (all primaries last night), extending his PT Streak to 7 games.
Finally, coach Ruff, in likely the most impressive milestone of the night, became the 4th winningest coach in NHL history when the horn sounded for his 850th career win behind the bench.Congrats to Lindy, Jack, and Nico for their remarkable career accomplishments to this point.

I also must credit one more player with a milestone last night, that being Akira Schmid. As his father Andreas told Erika and me during the pregame show, this was his first time watching his son at the pro hockey level in North America. So, yes, this was Akira’s first career win with his father watching live & in person. Congrats to Akira and Andreas, as well!Moving on to tonight’s game vs. ANA, a storyline to follow has been the Devils’ struggles in the second half of back-to-back sets so far this season. The Devils, being tasked with a league-high 16 back-to-back sets on their 2023-24 schedule, are 6-1-0 in first halves and have a 1-4-1 record on the second day/night to this point. Vitek (projected to start tonight), has only played in 2 of those games and has split results in those contests (came in relief in 6-4 L vs. WSH on Oct. 25 & started for 7-2 W vs. BUF on Nov. 25).

So, yes, we are in mid-December, and the Devils have 10 back-to-back sets remaining on the season, if you include this weekend. To put this in perspective, 14 teams (almost half of the league) have 10 or fewer back-to-back sets in their entire schedule for the 2023-24 season.

With that said, the Devils know this is not an excuse to lose games. Hopefully, just like they’re looking to shift the narrative and become “Home Warriors” at the Rock, they can begin to turn the tide and solve these consistent struggles in second-half scenarios.
Tonight's matchup with ANA is a similar one to last night's against Columbus, as the Devils are facing another team toward the bottom of the league and dealing with their share of injury troubles. The Ducks (10-19-0), are without Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish, Jamie Drysdale, and Isac Lundestrom, which does not help their case at all. Like last night, the Devils need to bring their standard level of compete and not take a struggling team for granted.John Gibson is likely to get the start between the pipes for ANA tonight. Gibson's resume against NJD includes a 4-3-0 record across his 7 career starts, along with a very solid .922 SV%; 2.29 GAA & 1 SO.

3 of those starts have come at Prudential Center (2-1-0), where the 30-year-old has posted an even better .942 SV% (#3 best in opposing arenas) and 1.68 GAA (#2 best in opposing arenas).Our pregame show starts at 6:30 PM with more Devils' dads joining us on set!
-Sal