“There’s no more honorable player in this league than Brenden Dillon,” Devils Head Coach Sheldon Keefe said after Dillon’s 1,000th game. “He plays as hard and honest a game as anybody in The League.”

Monday night, at Prudential Center, the New Jersey Devils planned to celebrate Dillon’s achievement by hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets in a nondescript divisional matchup. However, the final score, a 5-3 loss for the Garden Staters, and the planned celebration were just two parts of a chaotic multi-act evening. The goaltending matchup for this wacky evening was Jake Allen versus Elvis Merzlikins. Allen stopped 19 of the 24 shots he faced, while Merzlikins saved 30 of 33. The first act was all celebratory. The second act was, to put it mildly, nuts. And the third act was deflating. 

The second period (Act Two) featured eight combined fighting majors, a game misconduct (Jonas Siegenthaler), 16 combined penalties and 64 combined penalty minutes. And to think, there was no hint of that coming after the first 20 minutes of the game, nor after it in the third period. 

Act One took place before and during the first period, when there were several acknowledgements/tributes to New Jersey’s Number Five, who is now just the 11th defenseman to go underdrafted and reach the 1,000 games played plateau since 1963-64. The Devils showed their appreciation for Dillon, his career and what he’s meant to the team by having all of their players wear “Dillon Number 5” jerseys during warmups. (The jerseys had 1K on each of the sleeves). The veteran defenseman was also named a starter for the opening face-off of the game. 

As an elder statesman, Dillon has been a huge part of the Devils’ success, both on and off the ice, since coming to New Jersey before the start of the 2024-25 season. 

“Dilli’s a massive, massive part of this team,” Paul Cotter said after the game. “(He) holds a lot of respect between all of us. Obviously, if anything happens to him, we’re all ready to do something.”

Dillon’s defense remains consistent while seeing time across all three D-pairs. And he’s even chipped in a couple of timely goals that always manage to draw a big reaction from the fans and his teammates, especially since offense isn’t exactly his calling card. 

“I don’t think I can write a book,” Dillon reflected to NHL.com’s Mike Morreale before the game. “But I’ve loved every minute of it all. The rookie dinners, the early mornings, the long travel, the nights with your teammates and dinners…those types (of) things. The game itself is only part of it.” 

While Dillon has only been with the Devils for just under a season-and-a-half (the bulk of his career came with the San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets), he has been instrumental in helping Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec and other young players come into their own, both at and away from the rink.

“Just as a person, he’s one of my really good friends,” Luke Hughes told New Jersey’s Team Digital Reporter, Amanda Stein, after the team’s morning skate. “You know, it’s funny (to) say that when I’m 22 and he’s 34. He’s just a really special person and I’m really happy for him and really excited to be part of it.”

“Me and Jack always joke with him,” continued Hughes. “When he was in Winnipeg, you watch out for a guy like that on the ice and then you meet him in person…and you’re like ‘What am I watching out for?!’”

He’s a stabilizing force that allows the young guns to find their way. One of the reasons he’s been so good with the young players is because he was never supposed to make it this far, going from being an undrafted defenseman to a key cog in his team’s lineup over the course of 15 NHL seasons. 

“It’ll be nice to sit back and reflect on the people that have helped me along the way,” Dillon told the Devils’ team website. “We’d be here all day if (I) listed every name from minor hockey, growing up in Surrey, going away to junior hockey and moving away from your parents, your family, the billet family you live with, the coaches in pro when I got there, every step and every level there are so many people that make this (happen).

“And there’s fortunate things too. I’ve been so lucky and fortunate. The biggest thing I tell all kids is don’t ever take a day for granted. I love coming to the rink. Guys have been so amazing everywhere I’ve played. I’ve had just as much fun hooting and hollering and practicing, the grind of the travel and getting in late. I wouldn’t change it for anything. I love being a hockey player every day.”

Hopefully, all of those comments give you a decent glimpse into the player and person Dillon is. It also helps bring the second act of this crazy game into better perspective. But first…

In the first 3:03 of the game, Nico Hischier (on the power-play) and Ondrej Palat gave the Devils a 2-0 lead with two quick goals that had everybody in Newark jumping. Denton Mateychuk got one back on a Columbus power-play 9:54 into the first period. Later in the opening period, Timo Meier appeared to score a power-play goal through a maze of bodies in the crease. 

The officials conferred and initially ruled it a “good hockey goal.” Columbus then challenged it for goaltender interference. After a review, the goal was waved off, thus completing a weird sequence of events. 

Dougie Hamilton was sent to the box for hooking Yegor Chinakov with 33 seconds left in the opening period. So, when the second period began, the Devils were still on the penalty kill. And that’s when the game got turned upside down.

1:01 into the middle period, Adam Fantilli slashed Jake Allen, which led to a scrum forming in front of the net. Dillon and Dmitri Voronkov broke off from the main group and before New Jersey’s beloved D-man could do anything, Voronkov caught him with an upper-cut and pulled Dillon’s sweater over his head before continuing to hit him. Dillon crashed onto the ice, hitting his unprotected head and face on the frozen surface. It was several moments before Dillon was able to move and be helped off the ice and into the tunnel. 

“I don’t like it at all,” Keefe said. “I don’t think Dill knows he’s in a fight. He’s tackled from behind and before he knows it, his helmet’s off, (his sweater’s) raised over his head and we saw what happened from there. So, I don’t like it at all.”

27 seconds after play resumed, Sean Monahan tied the game 2-2. And then, two-and-a-half minutes later, all heck broke loose. Connor Brown, Paul Cotter and Jonas Siegenthaler all engaged at various points with Zach Werenski, Fantilli and Monahan. Fantilli and Siegenthaler were each assessed fighting majors, with New Jersey’s defender also getting booted from the game via a game misconduct for not having his jersey and pants properly strapped. 

“I don’t like that either,” said Keefe. “I mean, you all can watch the game back. Siegenthaler received seven punches before he removed his gloves. So, for me, there should be an extra penalty there. I don’t know how that works, whether that affects…you know, his jersey not being tied down, ’cause he wasn’t a willing fighter until he just had to try to protect himself.”

“I think it showed some character,” Paul Cotter said about him and his teammates standing up for Dillon.

It showed character and then some. Voronkov, Brendan Smith, Cotter and Stefan Noesen were each assessed for fighting majors during further engagements in the second period. And there were a number of other scraps that didn’t result in fighting majors, but were penalized in other ways. 

To the surprise of everyone, Dillon actually managed to return for a few shifts near the end of the middle period, but was then kept out for the rest of the game due to precautionary reasons. 

“Nobody enjoys seeing that,” said Devils’ Captain Nico Hischier. “Luckily, he came back for a bit and as far as I know, he’s doing all right. That’s the most important thing…It was definitely an emotional game. I think, obviously, seeing Dillon go down, we didn’t like that at all. But I think we responded to that.”

“He’s a warrior,” said Cotter. “I’m glad he is on my team. He holds a lot of respect between all of us and when he came back, I was proud of him.”

Unfortunately for the Devils, the third period (aka Act Three) was all downhill as the team was unable to keep its emotions in check. 

Several minutes into the final period, in the span of 34 seconds, Charlie Coyle and Monahan scored to give the Blue Jackets a 4-2 lead. Meier netted a power-play goal at 11:51 of the third to draw New Jersey within 4-3, but Miles Wood capitalized on a mistake by Allen at 13:31 to give the Blue Jackets a 5-3 lead. The Devils were unable to draw closer and suffered their second consecutive home regulation loss. 

One thing’s for sure, Dillon and the Devils will never forget his 1,000th game. 

Paul Cotter said it best, “I’m sure it’s gonna be quite the match next time we play them.”