MORNING SKATE RECAP
TAMPA, Fla. - The Devils held a morning skate at Amalie Arena ahead of facing the Tampa Bay Lighting in the finale of their three-game Florida swing.
The Devils didn’t make any changes to their workflow, which was…
Meier – Hischier – Noesen
Palat – Hughes – Bratt
Cotter – Haula – Mercer
MacDermid – Dowling – Tatar
Dillon – Hamilton
Siegenthaler – Kovacevic
Hughes – Pesce
Markstrom starting in goal.
Lessons Learned
The Devils suffered an 8-5 loss to the Lightning in New Jersey on Oct. 22. Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe called the game “the worst game we’ve played all season.”
The Devils are a much different team than they were a month ago. But there is still a lot of lessons they can take away from that prior loss.
“It was a tough game in our end. We gave them way too much,” captain Nico Hischier said. “I think right now where we’re at as a team, we’re definitely playing better. We know their strength.”
“There is some video from that game is useful,” he said. “Some of it we’ve grown a lot since then and we have a chance to show that here tonight.”
Defending Kucherov
There is no simple solution to covering a player that scored 44 goals, 100 assists and 144 points last year. But that assignment will likely fall on the shoulders of the Devils’ shutdown pairing of Jonas Siegenthaler and Johnathan Kovacevic.
“He’s a top player in the league. It’s going to be hard because he beats you with his mind and with his skill,” Kovacevic said. “He will beat you 1-on-1, but he’s not burning you wide. He’s using his mind a lot and finding those soft spots in your coverage in the D zone. You have to be mindful when he’s on the ice. We know where he likes to hide. Keeping our structure and making sure he doesn’t break through it.”
Kovacevic added: “He's a fun player to watch when you’re not playing against him.”
Power Surge
The Devils power play exploded for three goals against the Florida Panthers Thursday night, going 3-for-5 on the evening. Jesper Bratt, Dawson Mercer and Stefan Noesen cashed in on the man-advantage.
“We’re taking what they give us. We’re having a 5-on-5 mindset,” Hischier said of the power play success. “We’re winning loose pucks. That makes a big difference. We’re talking a lot, that helps a lot, too.”
Puck Retrievals
The Panthers and Lightning are two teams that clog up the neutral zone in an attempt to take away opposition speed. In those scenarios, the Devils will be forced to dump the puck and then retrieve them. It was something the team was able to do against the Panthers and hoping to replicate against the Bolts.
“Florida and now Tampa, they defend the neutral zone extremely well,” Keefe said. “So not a lot of time or opportunity to make plays in front of them. It’s really important for us to recognize when there is no opportunity and we have to create speed and space by putting it behind (the defensemen), and then win those pucks back, win the races, be good in the battles, have good sticks.”
The Devils also managed to strategically dump pucks into corners where the Panthers’ goaltenders weren’t able to play them. Thus, forcing the defensemen to make the play while under forecheck pressure by the Devils’ speedy forwards.
Identity
The Devils will play their 20th game this evening. That’s a fourth of the entire season and is usually around the time when you can get a feel for a team’s identity. Keefe gave his assessment on where his club currently sits.
“I feel like the players have really gotten into a groove here recently,” Keefe said. “But it’s day to day. We’re seeking consistency and we want to stay with it. There’s a great understanding now of what the expectations are. The group is playing a lot better as a unit. The competitiveness and work ethic has gone up to closer to the standard that we’re looking for. All those things give you a chance to compete every night with the type of team that we have.”
