Devils' Dawson Mercer: Two points despite recent struggles
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Mercer had a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win over Chicago on Saturday.
Mercer bounced right back after taking a puck to the face in Thursday's game against the Kings. The goal was his seventh of the season. Mercer has struggled offensively, earning just two goals, three assists and 20 shots in his last 13 games. He has seven goals, nine assists and 53 shots in 33 appearances this season. The Devils need more from their second-line right winger. Mercer is still young, and he can develop his game. However, fantasy managers need him to contribute more before inserting him into lineups.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Good to go Saturday
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Mercer (face) will play Saturday against Chicago, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.
Mercer needed stitches after taking a puck to the face in Thursday's game against Los Angeles, but the 23-year-old forward will be back in action Saturday. Mercer has six goals and 14 points through 32 games this season.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Scores in Monday's win
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Mercer scored a goal in Monday's 5-1 win over the Rangers.
Mercer ended a seven-game goal drought, a span in which he had two assists. His tally Monday stood as the game-winner. Mercer is filling a middle-six role, earning 14 points, 45 shots on net, 21 blocked shots and a plus-8 rating over 28 appearances. While that's a better pace than he had in 2023-24 (33 points in 82 contests), his limited power-play role and lack of consistency put him on the edge of being a fantasy option in standard formats.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Scores Saturday
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Mercer scored a goal and took three shots in Saturday's 4-3 overtime win over the Islanders.
Mercer scored for the first time since New Jersey's 6-0 victory over Vancouver on Oct. 30, and while he's lacked consistency on a game-to-game basis, he's been doing great recently. The 23-year-old playmaker has registered points in four of his last six games, tallying two multi-point efforts in that span while racking two goals and four assists.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Produces two assists
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Mercer recorded two assists and went plus-3 in Sunday's 6-2 win over the Ducks.
Mercer helped out on second-period tallies by Jack Hughes and Paul Cotter. It's been a shaky start to the campaign for Mercer, who has five points over 12 games after earning his first multi-point effort of the year Sunday. He's added 17 shots on net, 10 blocked shots and a plus-7 rating while seeing top-six minutes.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Nets goal in overtime loss
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Mercer scored a goal on two shots, blocked two shots and went plus-2 in Saturday's 6-5 overtime loss to the Capitals.
Mercer has had an uneven start to the campaign despite consistently playing in a top-six role. His goal Saturday was his second tally and third point of the season, and he's added a modest 10 shots on net, eight blocked shots and a plus-4 rating across eight appearances. Mercer was limited to 33 points during the 2023-24 regular season, down from his 56-point breakout in 2022-23, and his offense isn't trending in the right direction this season.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Pots empty-netter
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Mercer tallied an empty-net goal during Saturday's 5-3 win over the Capitals.
Mercer has his first goal of the season and has two points in the first four games. The 22-year-old will be relied upon as a top-six winger for the balance of the season and could be a worthwhile add for fantasy managers once he can become a more consistent offensive producer.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Picks up helper Friday
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Mercer generated an assist in Friday's 4-1 win over the Sabres in Prague.
Mercer was an unsigned restricted free agent until early in training camp. That always carries some risk, but it's encouraging that Mercer began the year with a helper while filling a second-line role in the season opener. He had a down year with 33 points, 134 shots on net and a minus-26 rating in 2023-24, but the 22-year-old has also displayed fantastic durability by not missing a game in his career to date. If he can keep his top-six spot, Mercer has excellent bounce-back potential.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Won't report to camp
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Mercer will not be available for the start of training camp due to his ongoing contract dispute, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports Wednesday.
Mercer and the Devils are reportedly close to a new deal but until the restricted free agent is signed, he won't be able to get onto the ice with his teammates. Once he puts pen to paper, the 22-year-old natural center should be in the mix for a top-six role, though he could face a strong challenge from Tomas Tatar for a second-line spot.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Slumps in year three
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Mercer finished the 2023-24 season with 20 goals and 33 points in 82 games.
Mercer's sophomore slump came a year late, as he finished with the lowest point total of his three-year career. The 2020 first-round draft pick also had a career-worst minus-26 rating, and he posted his lowest shot total (134) despite seeing a career high in average ice time (17:13). On the bright side, Mercer still hasn't missed a game in his NHL career, and he'll be a bounce-back candidate next season after posting point totals of 42 and 56 in his first two campaigns. Mercer will be a restricted free agent this offseason after the expiration of his entry-level contract.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Lights lamp twice in win
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Mercer scored two goals in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Penguins.
The 22-year-old opened the scoring early in the first period before adding another tally in the third as New Jersey blew the game open. Mercer had just two goals over the prior 16 games, his only points during that stretch, and on the season he's up to 19 goals and 30 points through 69 contests.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Deals assist in win
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Mercer logged an assist and two shots on goal in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Predators.
Mercer picked up a point in consecutive games for the first time since late December. The 22-year-old helped out on Timo Meier's go-ahead tally in the third period. Mercer's offense has dropped since the Devils got their ideal top-six corps healthy at the same time, which has led to him playing on the third line. He's at 26 points, 90 shots on net and a minus-14 rating this season, and it seems unlikely he'll have enough time to match last year's 56-point effort.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Tallies goal in win
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Mercer scored his 15th goal of the season in the Devils' 3-1 win over the Kraken on Monday.
Mercer has been mired in a mini-slump. This was just his second goal and fourth point over the last 12 games. His ice time has fluctuated wildly in recent weeks as well. While he's frequently seen more than 20 minutes per game, he has played just 15:27, 13:27, and 14:45 in his last three tilts, which is likely a result of Jack Hughes' return to the lineup.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: First three-point game of season
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Mercer had a goal and two assists in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Blue Jackets.
Mercer tied the score at 2-2 in the third period with his ninth goal of the season, and he also assisted on game-tying goals from Ondrej Palat and Luke Hughes, the latter of which came with just 1:25 remaining in regulation. This was the first three-point effort of 2023-24 for Mercer, who posted at least three points on four different occasions last season. He continues to lag well behind last year's 56-point pace, with just 17 points through 33 games.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Goal, assist in loss
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Mercer scored a goal and added an assist in Thursday's 6-3 loss to Edmonton.
Mercer got New Jersey on the board in the first period, firing a shot under the pad of Calvin Pickard to cut the deficit to 2-1 before adding an assist on Timo Meier's tally in the second. It's the first multi-point game since Nov. 28 for Mercer -- he came into the day with just two points (a goal and an assist) in his prior eight contests. Overall, the 22-year-old center now has eight goals and 14 points through 31 games this season.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Keeps rolling with power-play goal
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Mercer scored a power-play goal on three shots and went minus-2 in Friday's 6-3 loss to the Sharks.
With the Devils' top six healthy again, Mercer is back to shining on the wing. He's posted six points over his last four games, a stark contrast to his season-opening 10-game point drought. The 22-year-old is better as part of the supporting cast for the Devils, and he can also fill a similar role for fantasy squads. Mercer has six goals, four helpers, 38 shots on net, 16 blocked shots and a minus-7 rating through 22 appearances this season.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Buries power-play goal
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Mercer scored a power-play goal on four shots in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to the Jets.
Mercer got the Devils within two goals late in the third period, but they couldn't build a rally. The 22-year-old has benefited from the absences of Nico Hischier (upper body) and Jack Hughes (shoulder) -- Mercer's been in a top-six role and has scored all three of his goals over the last four games. That's all of his offense through 14 contests to go with 27 shots on net, 11 blocked shots and a minus-7 rating.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Pots first goal of season
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Mercer scored a power-play goal in Sunday's 4-2 win over Chicago.
With Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier both sidelined due to upper-body injuries, Mercer slid into a top-six role at even strength and a prominent spot on the power play, and the 22-year-old capitalized by jamming a shot past Arvid Soderblom midway through the first period. It was Mercer's first point of the season in 11 games, but with both Hughes and Hischier lacking timelines for their respective returns, he should get enough opportunities in the short term to provide some fantasy value.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Scores in season-ending loss
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Mercer potted the first goal of the game as New Jersey took a 3-2 overtime loss to Carolina on Thursday.
Mercer scored his third goal through 12 playoff games. He hasn't tallied often, but with seven postseason points, he made an impact for the Devils during the postseason. However, Mercer's successful sophomore campaign has come to an end.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Provides marker Saturday
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Mercer scored a goal in a 5-2 loss to the Rangers in Game 6 on Saturday.
Mercer found the back of the net for the second straight contest, bringing him up to two markers and three points in six playoff outings this year. His latest tally came on the power play, but it wasn't impactful because it occurred late in the third period and merely reduced the Rangers' lead to 5-2. Still, Mercer heating up is great news for the Devils as they head into Game 7 on Monday. New Jersey will be looking for the 21-year-old to continue to play in a middle-six role after he contributed 27 goals and 56 points in 82 regular-season appearances.
