10 TAKEAWAYS: What You May Have Missed

Sometimes it's hard to keep up. The schedule just keeps coming at you with a game every other day, sometimes the exciting 42-hour break between games. So, this week, I'm delving into some quotes and stories we may have missed amidst the furious pace of the season.

1. Jesper's Goal

What a way to cap off a Sunday. Normally when a game goes to overtime and we're on the road, I make my way down to ice level to watch the extra period, so that I'm ready to go and get to the bus as soon as the game is done. Sometimes I'm at the end where the Devils are shooting, others I get to watch our goaltenders make their saves.
But boy was I glad this time around that I was at the shooting end, and on the right side of the ice no less. I had a front-row seat to Jesper Bratt's wraparound game-winner. And I truly had to do a double-take, to make sure I saw what I actually saw. What an incredible goal.

2. Not bad for a first career overtime goal.

3. The Stat

It was a beauty of a goal and capped off a crazy stat for New Jersey.
I'll just leave this here and think about the future:

4. Okay, I'll Expand

Let us expand on that. Another stat I came across.
The Devils lead points by rookies with 20 goals, 30 assists totaling 50 points in 29 games. When it comes to those 20 goals by rookies? Well, that's second overall in the NHL to-date this season.

5. Points!

It has been a good week, whether it's acknowledging poor performances and coming out strong the next game, making the adjustments and chemistry continuing to build. It's all headed in the right direction, with of course recognizing that there will always be bumps in the road, after the Devils pick up at least a point in four out of the past five games.
Over the span, New Jersey has 3-1-1 record.

6. Away from Home

As this gets released, we might be cruising on the bus down to Philadelphia. Tomorrow's game will begin another five straight games on the road for the Devils, with stops against the Flyers, Capitals and Bruins.
The road is where Devils have really managed to butter their bread this season, with the second-best Away record in the East Division. New Jersey is 7-3-2 on the road totaling a .667-win percentage.

7. Things I Love

Oh, the things I love… pure teenage energy. Saying it like it is, and there's no one better and more sincere at it than Jack Hughes.
His goal this week against the Penguins was a goal-scorer's goal. But the best part may have been how he described the goal.
"I just saw a little bit of room up top and tried to bank it off his head and put in the back in that net," Hughes said. "I don't know if it did hit his head, but it was a good shot and I'm happy it went in."

8. Back Again

It had been just over a month since we saw Nick Merkley in the lineup, but he was back on March 20th against Pittsburgh. He skated on a line with Miles Wood and Pavel Zacha, and while the compete as a team left something to be desired, Lindy Ruff did point out Merkley as a bright spot, handling his first game in the NHL in over a month well.
He led the team that night with five shots.
"I really thought Nick had a good night," Lindy Ruff said. "He was in on two or three scoring chances, skated well, drove to the net hard, handled the puck well, made the plays that were there. He was one of our better players by the end of the night."

9. Story of the Year

We've heard a lot of posts and crossbars ringing in our ears this season. Chances so close, yet so far, sometimes the difference between a win and a loss. Two points or none.
It's what Lindy Ruff has called "the story of our year," as he looks for his team to begin generating more offense.
"I was a little frustrated that we hit posts, we hit crossbars," Ruff said of the game in Pittsburgh, despite the overtime victory. "It's still bothering us putting pucks in the back of the net when we're having good outings. I think that's affected us getting wins some nights.
"It's been the story of our year. We really feel if we'd have more finish, we'd have four, five more wins right now. We've had games where we dominated the chance sheet and losing games 3-1, 2-1."

10. We're Growing - Again!

As the New Jersey Devils content team continues to grow, I wanted to extend a warm welcome to Jessica Kent. Jessica is joining us as a special guest host spearheading and contributing to our community coverage for the next month. Looking forward to seeing all her great work!
Tweet from @NJDevils: Jessica Kent joins https://t.co/GLszg5LKPV crew as a guest host.She will be helping lead our community efforts as we expand our list of on-air talent.https://t.co/J3Ed4vVRop
But wait there's more!
Let's also welcome Sam Kasan!
Sam will be part of the team covering the Devils on practices and games, in addition to working as a feature writer and appearing as a podcast co-host and occasional on-air analyst. So much to be excited about as these two join the team, and we bring you the very best we can from the team that you love!