Hey, Devils fans! It's been great to be back for another season of Devils hockey and writing here at BryceSalvador.com. My teammates, Leo Scaglione Jr. and Ethan Fink, and I are excited to share our first article of the regular season! But before you dive into it, we want to express our genuine gratitude for your continued support of our website. Your unwavering support has made this journey enjoyable, and we are excited to bring you new and engaging Devils content throughout the regular season!
Well, here we go!
It’s finally time for hockey games that count in the standings, and the Devils desperately need Ws. Starting with the upcoming back-to-back set in Prague, the Devils have a league-high 13 games coming their way in October - meaning there will be 26 PTS on the table in just 26 days' time.
For me, the critical “must-win” games start right away this season. Make no mistake about it, this is a business trip. The Devils need to bring home at least 3 PTS from Prague — and proceed to pick up at least 16-18 of the 26 total points available to them in October — this is a non-negotiable.
With this specific group of Devils players having failed to win a game in the preseason, there won't be time to entertain the moral victories generally heard throughout the league in October, such as, “We played hard, but didn’t get points,” or, “Season’s young, we’ll be fine,” or, “We’re still figuring things out with the new players, new coach," etc., etc. And I’m sure every team will use the Oilers’ historic comeback and run they ended up having last year as something to point to, too! In short, there is too much pressure around this Devils team to fall behind early. They need wins immediately!
Having the most scheduled games of any team in October this season, the Devils need to take advantage of this tremendous opportunity to build immediate separation in the standings. We only need to go back two seasons ago to see how important the start of the season can be, as the Devils’ 13-game winning streak in October/November covered up for their horrendous 1-7-1 month of December. Simply put, the Devils would not have made the playoffs that season if not for that fantastic start they had.
Deep diving into some numbers, take a look at how historically significant October is when a team has 13+ games!
Jesper Bratt
In each of the past two Octobers to date, Jesper Bratt has unquestionably been one of the most impactful players in the league. He's accumulated 10-19—29 PTS in 17 total GP while recording a point in 16 of those 17 GP. Jesper has quietly become one of the most important leaders on this team, both on and off the ice. I absolutely love talking to him, as he has remained grounded despite becoming an NHL All-Star!
In such an important opening month and stretch of games coming up, I expect nothing less than to see Bratter continue this trend of putting the Devils on his back in October!
Jack Hughes & Dougie Hamilton - Back at 100% (???)
It's those question marks next to 100% that are keeping me (and every Devils fan) up at night. How durable will Jack’s shoulder and Dougie’s left pectoral muscle be this regular season following their respective surgeries? It was great to see Dougie play in 3 exhibition games, and at the same time, it was wise to limit Jack to just one game.
The reality is that both Jack and Dougie might have slow starts. Coming back from a major surgery involves more than just the physical aspect. There is also the adjustment period of dealing with the emotional and mental moments when you “tweak” that injury and have a panic moment—only to realize you are 100% fine. (I’ve been there, and those moments take years off your life!)
A glance back at the Devils' first 20 GP of last season would remind you just how critical Jack and Dougie are to the offensive success of this team when they're in the lineup, playing at 100% and physically able to perform at their highest level. Throughout the first 15 games, Jack was a beast, leading the NHL in PTS/GP (1.73), before suffering his first injury moment, which ultimately caused him to miss 20 games of the season. On the backend, Dougie led all NHL D with four PPGs through the first 20 GP - and remained the leader in that category through the first 38 GP of the season! Crazy. Once Dougie was ruled out for the season, the Devils' ship started filling up with water, especially on the power play (see the footnote in the graphic below!). No team can replace this level of production!
There are so many more storylines that I could talk about, but this article would never end! Join my new partner, Rachel Herzog, and me tomorrow afternoon as we tackle the rest of them live on MSG for our “Season Premiere” pregame show at 12:30 PM! (And yes - Seamus Casey will be a big topic if he plays!)
Let's Go Devils!
-Sal
Here are some recent graphics for you to prime yourself up for the game!
