Devils' Dawson Mercer Shares Two Areas Where His Team Needs To Improve

On Wednesday afternoon, the New Jersey Devils had limited skaters on the ice at RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House after the team's usual morning meetings. Those skaters included Chris Tierney, Alexander Holtz, Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec, Colin Miller, Akira Schmid, and Dawson Mercer.

Afterward, Mercer caught up with Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News to talk about various topics, including where he thinks his team needs to improve.

"I think consistency," he said. "I think we're playing really good, and then (there are) times we pass up points that you don't want to lose in certain games."

As a colleague said, New Jersey's season has been filled with peaks and valleys thus far. After 30 games, the Devils sit sixth in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 16-12-2.

Consistency has been a word fans and media have heard dating back to last season. Whether it's putting forth a consistent 60-minute effort in a game or establishing consistent play over an extended period, this is a familiar hurdle for the club.

Oddly enough, the other area of improvement that the Bay Roberts native mentioned was something the team struggled with at times during the 2022-23 season.

"Be a better team at home," Mercer said. "I think we've always been really good on the road, so, you know, just working on that."

The Devils record on the road is 10-5-0 this season. At Prudential Center? 6-7-2. The team is currently amid a five-game homestand and has thus far earned a 0-1-1 record.

After the team's Tuesday night overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, head coach Lindy Ruff discussed needing to be more effective at home and referenced their win over the Boston Bruins as the "recipe for winning here."

Mercer was then asked if he agrees with the players and coaches who have said teams can sometimes put too much emphasis on putting on a show in front of their home crowd.

"No, I don't really read into it. Everyone goes into it with the same mentality. Every game, you go in and try your hardest to get the win," he said. "At the end of the day, every game we are trying to win."

With a chuckle, the 22-year-old continued.

"It doesn't matter if you're home, away, (playing in) Europe, preseason, every time you step onto the ice, you're trying to go out there and give it your all."

The Devils' next game is scheduled for Thursday in Newark as they host the Edmonton Oilers, a team that defeated them a little over a week ago. With two games left before the holiday break, it is the perfect time for the Devils to jump back into the win column and build confidence ahead of the second half of the season.

"Still early in the season, 30 games, but obviously, we want to be winning more games than losing. I think we've gotten back on track, but you want to get those extra points because, at the end of the day, they might be the difference," he said. 

Puck drop between the Devils and Oilers is scheduled for 7:30 P.M. and will be an ESPN+ broadcast.