PRAGUE, Czechia – The Devils took center stage for the hockey world during the NHL’s Global Series in Prague, Czechia.

The team put their talent, skill and fierceness on display during back-to-back wins to open the season while outscoring opponent, Buffalo, by a 7-2 margin.

But what was also on display at Prague’s O2 Arena was the passion of Devils fans. The faithful turned out in droves. It was clear from the ear test which team had the stronger presence in the stands. The consistent organic chants of “Let’s go Devils!” and the cacophonous roars following Devils’ goals and victories was the self evidence.

“I’m from Jersey. It’s our team,” said visiting fan Jon Stanton. “It’s hard not to be a fan. It’s easy to fall in love if you’re from Jersey. If you’ve been to a game or two, you’d understand.”

That game or two doesn’t even have to be in Newark’s Prudential Center. For the Global Series, Devils fans traveled thousands of miles and across an ocean (or two) to represent the Black and Red.

It took Mikaela Mackie of Melbourne, Australia a 25-hour trip to land in Prague for the game. She formed a bond with fellow Devils fans from various countries via social media and the group met up for the game.

“We all know each other from Twitter. It’s fantastic to connect with other people and have that common interest,” she said. “It makes it easy to start that conversation and get along.”

Among those in her group were people from England, Ireland and Italy. The foursome hadn’t met until the morning of this interview.

“Met up today to hang out,” she said.

The ladies, sporting Devils flair, planned on exploring Prague and attending the Global Series games together.

“We can’t just casually go to a game. For us to be here is so meaningful,” said Matilda Sampaio of England. “To be here and with other people who get it, and get how important it is, I’m going to sit with someone I never met before at the game, and I know I’m going to have the best time.

“We’ve followed each other for a while, and we have the same passion. It makes the experience so much better when you have someone to share it with.”

Sisters Mireya and Noalea arrived in Prague from their native Spain to watch the game. Even though Spain isn’t a hotbed of hockey, the siblings were able to latch onto the sport.

“I read a book about a hockey player, and I found it interesting. I was searching for teams and (the Devils) the first team I watched,” Noalea said. “I like how they play. They are a real team. (Spain has soccer) but it’s not like this connection with each other. It’s super cool. It’s amazing.”

After Noalea’s conversion, her sister Mireya followed, including following her to Czechia.

“It was fun getting to know a game I didn’t know anything about. It just felt right,” Mireya said. “We watch through the Internet on Tik Tok, twitter and blogs about hockey.

“It’s so awesome to walk and hear people yell ‘Let’s go Devils!’”

That was a common occurrence in the ancient streets of Old Town, Prague. Black and Red filled the historical sites and roadways throughout the city. The Devils were the common cause for fans from different countries, backgrounds, cultures and languages.

“We met Devils fans today from Scotland, Spain, Florida, California, a group from Mexico, plenty of guys from Jersey of course, we’ve come out to support,” Stanton said. “Guys that don’t even speak English but yell ‘Let’s go Devils!’ as soon as you see them. How do you not love that?”

East Brunswick native Joe Leonard even added some foreign language learning to his trip.

“I wrote it down in Czech. Devils vyhrát. It means Devils win,” he said.

The faithful were able to experience that twice as New Jersey won both games against the Sabres. It was the perfect ending to a perfect week for the pilgrimage of the holy.

“You don’t form intense connections until you start realizing we all have this passion and intense love, especially European fans,” Sampaio said. “We all stay up until 3, 4, 5 a.m. to watch these games.”

The Devils may represent New Jersey, but at the Global Series they also unified many around the world.

“It’s not the things that make us different, it’s the things that make us the same as fans of the sport,” Stanton said. “To appreciate it and see people you don’t even know that see you wearing the hat, the logo, the jersey, they don’t even speak the language but they’re still a fan of the sport and the players. It’s great to be on the same side of that and see people that you’ve never met love the same thing as you.”