Dawson Mercer (© James Guillory-Imagn Images)The New Jersey Devils picked up a hard-fought 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in their last contest on Oct. 13. With this, the Devils now sport a 2-1-0 record on the season and have won each of their two games.
Devils forward Dawson Mercer was a big reason for the Devils' latest victory over the Blue Jackets, as the 23-year-old forward scored twice in the matchup. This included him scoring an empty-netter at the 19:03 mark of the third period, which proved to be the game-winner.
With this two-goal performance against the Blue Jackets, Mercer now have three points in his first three games of the 2025-26 season. This is certainly good to see, and the 2020 first-round pick will now be looking to keep this kind of play up from here.
Mercer headed into the 2025-26 campaign as one of the Devils' clear bounce-back candidates. He has yet to replicate his big 2022-23 season, where he set career highs with 27 goals, 29 assists, and 56 points in 82 games. Yet, with the way he has started the 2025-26 season, perhaps he could get back to similar offensive totals this year.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how Mercer builds on his solid start to the 2025-26 season from here.