Entering the New Year | 10 TAKEAWAYS

The news came pouring in on Tuesday. An array of injuries, stacking up for the New Jersey Devils. Some less concerning than others (Nico Hischier could be back with the team on Thursday against Columbus), while others have vaguer timelines right now (Dougie Hamilton) and then the dreaded 'done-for-the-year' ones.
That's where we are left as we pick up 10 Takeaways for the first time in 2022, because one 'done-for-the-year' scenario paves way for incredible opportunity. On Wednesday, Lindy Ruff handed the ball and firmly placed it in a players court, and wants to see him run with it.
Find out more on this week's 10 Takeaways, presented by Ticketmaster.

2.

So here we are again in a familiar situation for Mackenzie Blackwood.
Another opportunity to really take the reins
as the number one goaltender for this team. The way things are currently playing out, he'll get the majority of starts going forward with Akira Schmid and Jon Gillies competing for the other games.
The first game of opportunity certainly did not go the way he would have liked, giving up five goals against the Boston Bruins, but it may also serve as an important reminder of just how elevated he will need to take his game in order to solidify his position. I believe we learn more about ourselves through the tougher times than any big win can teach us. Mackenzie said it best, after the Bruins game, "I know that a couple of goals don't define who I am and what I do." And he's right, it doesn't and shouldn't.
Now, more than any other situation, any other stretch of hockey he'll have played at the NHL level, really is the time for him to prove it to himself because the talent is in there. We've seen it. And it's a really fun thing to watch.
Grabbing hold of an opportunity is what this game is really all about. We hear constantly about the 'next-man-up' philosophy when players go down with an injury. Jon Gillies has been brought in as some support, an older player but one with less experience at the NHL level than Mackenzie, and Akira Schmid and Nico Daws are still young, still figuring out their own way in the minors, or learning from the backup experience here in New Jersey, so the net really is Mackenzie's, and while there might not be a veteran behind him to push him, to threaten his job, he's going to have to find that within himself.
If I know Mackenzie as I do, I know he'll find his groove.

3.

And he'll have to because his head coach is handing him the reins, with full confidence.
"We're handing him the ball," Ruff said on Wednesday, at which point Blackwood had already played four consecutive games. "He understands that he's the guy [...] we've lost what was a plan B."
Ruff added, "We know that for us to fight and be right there in the thick of the playoff spot, we know that we're going to be sitting on his shoulders. And that's a new position for him."

4.

Players, they're just like us!
I had a chance to speak with Tomas Tatar as he was coming in fresh off being activated from the COVID-19 protocol list. It's always great to see these guys after they've been held away for a while, but even more so I just loved how excited Tatar was to talk about his own excitement in watching the game against the Oilers. Of course, he'd rather be playing in it, but he told me he experienced the game just like any die-hard fan would have; on the edge of his seat, 'flinching with every shot.'

5.

Are we seeing the start of something really special when it comes to Jack Hughes? With nine points in four games, it certainly seems like something is brewing for the young player. But don't ask him about it. Well, you can but he won't put too much credence into it. I love the way Jack responds to a lot of questions about himself, like the other day after the Edmonton game I asked him about his six points in two games. Before answering I swear he gave me this cheeky look, and he got me real good with his response.
"Well, I only had one point with 41 seconds to play."
Good point Jack.
(But those two points after the 41-second mark were pretty, pretty important!)

All that success accumulated into
Jack being named
the NHL's Second Star of the Week, which was exciting, because I feel like we rarely see Devils get the recognition in the Three Stars of the Week, and yet there have been some pretty deserving performances.

6.

I'm always so fascinated sitting on the team bus when we're heading to the rink. What a cool thing to hear at least four different languages, other than English, going at the same time. Our game is a pretty cool thing, bringing all these people from around the world together. I think the other day our bus was rolling in between English, Swedish, Swiss-German, and Slovak conversations all at once.
With Jonathan Bernier out, I couldn't add to the language medley with French, which really would have brought this all up a notch.

7.

I love a good insightful conversation with a pro-athlete, and I had just that with Ryan Graves on the Speak of the Devils Podcast this week.
He offered a really unique perspective
on what the Devils are going through as a growing franchise by making comparisons to that of his time in Colorado and what he saw leading up to the Avalanche being where they are today. He makes the comparisons between the stars of Colorado and the ones on the Devils roster, identifying the two teams as built quite similarly. He made a whole lot of sense and really preached the patience part of the whole process, which I can understand is not always the easiest thing to do. Make sure you check out the article and have a listen to the podcast, to get into his insights.
As a reporter, I'm always thankful for a player like Ryan, who speaks so eloquently and thoughtfully.
Makes my job easier!

8.

After Damon Severson took a penalty against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night, he shot out like a pinball from the box, sprung on a breakaway by Michael McLeod to go one-on-one with Linus Ullmark. Severson, who is strangely sneaky good on breakaways and the shootout, redeemed his penalty by scoring. After the game, I was chatting with Damon and I asked him about it. His comment back to me? "That's the dream scenario. Of course, you don't want to take the penalty in the first place, but if you're going to, that's the dream scenario."
Video: NJD@BOS: Severson comes out of the box and buries it

9.

One of my favorite things that happen behind the scenes? The Devils parking garage antics. There are cones that identify reserved spots for the players and staff and you have to move the cone before parking. Without a doubt, every single time you return to the parking lot, someone's car has been barricaded in by 10-plus cones. Thankfully it's never happened to me (and they wouldn't dare!), but I've seen a couple of guys walk around the corner to their car to realize they'll be moving a bunch of cones before being able to peel out of their spot. I'll do a little inquiry this week to see who gets it the most.

10.

I love when obscure things happen. Like the other night against the Edmonton Oilers. The first period the two teams scored five goals between themselves. Every single goal was scored by a first-round pick (Nico Hischier, Connor McDavid, Kailer Yamamoto, and Dawson Mercer). It was Janne Kuokkanen who would break the trend, but he wasn't far off as a second-round pick for Carolina in 2016. Only one of the combined 11 goals scored that night did not have a first-round pick as part of the play. That would be Devin Shore's goal (he himself a second-round pick in 2012), otherwise, every single goal had contributions from a first-round pick.