This is part of ourSpeaking of the Devils newsletter, which is sent to your inbox every Monday morning.

1. Welp, the Devils nearly got a clean sweep of their western road trip — which is no small feat — but their 4-2 loss to the Kraken on Sunday put a dent in those plans. This was New Jersey’s first ever regulation loss to the Kraken.

2. The Devils now have a 27% chance to make the playoffs, according to Money Puck. That’s 11th worst in the NHL. This time last week it was 12.6%. Progress!

3. I have two crazy Devils stats for you. One good, one bad. Let’s start with the bad: New Jersey’s 5-4 win over the Canucks on Friday marked the first time they’ve won a game in which they’ve given up three-plus goals since Dec. 9. They had lost nine in a row when giving up 3-plus.

4. Now for the good! The Devils are 18-0-0 when leading after two periods, which ranks second in the league behind the Colorado Avalanche. If they start strong, they usually finish.In Monday’

5. In Monday’s 2-1 to the Calgary Flames, another Hughes got injured. This time it was Luke, who came up grabbing his shoulder after a relatively innocent-looking play. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan has reported that he won’t undergo surgery — for now — and will rehab with hopes to return shortly after the Olympic break.

6. Friday’s game against the lowly Canucks had all the makings of a season-turning blowout win. The third line stayed scorching hot. Lenni Hameenaho potted his first NHL goal. The power play was gelling. Then Jacob Markstrom gave up two softies and nearly handed Vancouver the win. Now it just feels like New Jersey narrowly escaped defeat against the worst team in the NHL.

7. Let’s talk about that third line, shall we? In three games played, Hameenaho, Arseny Gritsyuk and Cody Glass have an overwhelming 83.84% expected goals for percentage, 24-11 shot and 24-8 scoring chance advantage at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick. Utter domination.

8. Glass, in particular, has been on an absolute tear. The 26-year-old center has nine points and six goals in his last eight games. He’s tied for second on the Devils in goals with 13.

9. We can maybe put the Dougie Hamilton trade talks to rest for now. Here’s what Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said about the defenseman on Saturday Night Headlines:

“So, Dougie Hamilton. The last couple of weeks, that’s a big name we’ve all been talking about. Luke Hughes was hurt, and he’s going to be out,” Friedman said. “He’s trying to come back without having surgery. So, he’s going to be out for a little bit. What that’s done is it has brought the Dougie Hamilton derby to a crawl, or a standstill. Now, I don’t think it’s impossible; I think if someone came to the Devils with something they couldn’t say no to, they would do it. But, at least for the time being, the Devils need him. He’s played very well, so it’s slowed this down.”

10. Here’s your weekly reminder to check out our YouTube show “Speaking of the Devils.” Postgame live streams after every game. Join in on the fun.

Question of the week (from via Ron via X DMs): Is the team still gonna trade Dougie?

As Friedman mentioned, I could only see a Hamilton trade happening if it was for a bonafide top six star. I don’t see how they could ship him out given how well he’s playing right now. He has points in eight straight games.