Your Favorite Moments | 10 TAKEAWAYS

As we approach the final week of the NHL regular season – playoffs are coming! – I wanted to take this opportunity to salute you, the fans, for your incredible support! Without you, we wouldn’t be here!

That’s why I want to allow you to choose my 10 Takeaways this week. Instead of typical takeaways, it’s really about all your favorite moments, both on and off the ice.

What has been incredible as I sift through all the moments you've sent me on social media is that there are these very small, yet powerful experiences that stick in your mind. It could be a booming Bratt hit, a zone entry for an overtime goal, or the bigger moments like first career hat tricks.

You remember every single moment! After reviewing all your suggestions, I compiled the ten that were the most suggested.

1.

These won't be in any particular order, but this one sure did pop up over and over again and might take the cake as the top moment of the season.

We'd been waiting a while, and it finally came, the captain Nico Hischier's first career hat trick against the Nashville Predators!

It came in a 5-2 victory at Prudential Center on November 26, 2024. Hischier’s natural hat trick came after a 10-game goal drought and propelled the Devils to a 4-1 lead over Nashville.

“I’ve had a couple two-goal games in my career," Hischier said after the game. "Somehow, yeah, that last one went in and I don’t know how!"

2.

Oh this was a moment, indeed! And you can certainly tell by the player's reaction after Jack Hughes scored this overtime winner on Long Island.

Dougie Hamilton sends Hughes in all alone on Ilya Sorokin and Jack makes quick work of the Islanders goaltender, spinning his stick in his hands as the puck flies by Sorokin.

Jack is mauled by his teammates as Jack completes the comeback win for the team.

3 & 4

Alright, this one sequence of play was brought to my attention in two different ways. And it was also a great reminder of how truly in tune you all are and how every little moment in games engraves its way into your brains. I had forgotten about this small little moment, but when you all reminded me of it, I thought to myself, how could I have possibly forgotten?

I remember sitting in the press box watching this play unfold between the Devils and Blackhawks and when Jesper Bratt came off the bench to join the play and laid a booming hit on Wyatt Kaiser along the boards. I remember being genuinely shocked at the noise the hit made that ricocheted all the way up to the top of Prudential Center.

So that's one moment from this sequence... and if it wasn't enough, it was the start of a shift that would conclude with Jack Hughes off the bench doing what he does best.

After Bratt separated Kaiser from the puck with his hit, he sent the puck up the boards to Brett Pesce who caught Jack Hughes streaking in with fresh legs off the bench, who wired the puck past Drew Commesso to take a 2-1 lead with 9:32 to play.

"That was one where things were building positively for us," head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. "Bratter went out and just incredible, incredible determination, persistence to stay on the puck and then it lands on Jack's stick and he makes them pay for it."

5.

How can this not be one, right?

This came to me from a bunch of you and it was before the season even started! But it introduced us to Professor Douglas D. Admin.

No other explanation necessary!

6.

No one does it quite like Jack Hughes does! Especially against the New York Rangers!

While Jack missed the final matchup with the Rangers this season, he had already done much damage! A big time player against a big-time opponent and Jack certainly never misses his opportunities.

Back in late December, Hughes had a three-point night, with two goals and an assist, to help elevate New Jersey to a 5-0 victory against the Rangers. I have a feeling this particular moment was picked not just because of Jack but also because it came against the Rangers—the icing on the cake!

Jack constantly racks up points at will against the Rangers, with 26 (15g-11a) in 22 games against the Rangers, which is the most among all skaters since he entered the NHL in 2019-20.

7.

Opening the season in Prague was such a cool moment, it had to make this list, and certainly did for many of you!

I think what really stood out about this trip for the Global Series was how many fans wrote to me about how this was their favorite moment because they're Devils fans who live closer to Czechia than they do to North America and it was their first time seeing their favorite team play live.

As someone who grew up in North America and around the sport and team I love, I don't know if I had a true appreciation for what a trip like that meant to others. Seeing comments like "It's a day I will never forget!" was a really good reminder of how meaningful these games played overseas is to so many people and that our Devils fanbase reaches far and wide!

So, opening the season in Prague against the Buffalo Sabres - and the fact that it was back-to-back wins ! - certainly took the cake for many, many fans this year!

8.

Czechia also brought one of your favorite moments of the season... we saw during training camp how Seamus Casey took hold of a vacant spot on the blueline and ran with it. He was impressive all through training camp and the preseason and earned himself a seat on the plane for the Global Series.

Not a bad way to start an NHL career!

And while that excitment built towards his debut, it exploded at 02 Arena in Prague when, in his second NHL game, he wired a puck into the net for his first NHL goal, a power play goal against Buffalo netminder Devon Levi.

"I don't think his University of Michigan friends are going to believe his trip and I'm sure it'll be an around-the-fireplace moment where he can try to recap it for them," Erik Haula said after the game. "But after what he already showed in training camp, and now scoring his first goal, it's just real memorable. I'm glad I get to be on his plaque; I think it's the first one that I get to share somebody else's so that's special."

What a debut it was for Seamus, who not only made his NHL start in Czechia, but also was awarded Player of the Game in the second game of the series and walked away with a brand new Rolex watch.

It also provided us with this great moment!

9.

This Markstrom save made many of your lists.

No explanation is necessary.

Just incredible stuff from the Devils' goaltender.

10.

You didn't think we'd forget this one, did you?!

In perhaps the most unexpected moment of the season, the Mrs. Fields Dessert Race drama!

It took our girl a long time, but she finally did it!