PRE-GAME STORY
NEWARK, NJ - The Devils hit the ice at Prudential Center for their morning skate ahead of hosting the New York Islanders at 7 p.m. ET for their second preseason game. And their lineup had a real NHL feel to it.
With the exception of a few spots here and there, the Devils will deploy a lineup tonight that will closely resemble what it would look like for the opening of the regular season. The Devils used the following workflow…
Dadonov – Hughes – Bratt
Meier – Hischier – Mercer
Palat – Glendending – Brown
Gritsyuk – Lammikko – Halonen
Edwards – Pesce
Siegenthaler – Hamilton
Dillon – Nemec
(Hanzel – Diotte)
Markstrom
Romanov
The Devils used the following power play setups:
PP1: Hamilton, Hughes, Hischier, Bratt, Mercer
PP2: Nemec, Gritsyuk, Meier, Palat, Dadonov
“We’re having a lot of guys together, which is good. We get to try our units together a little bit and play together for the first time,” said forward Jesper Bratt. “It’s nice we have a lot of bodies from the regular roster today and it should be exciting.”
Goalie Jacob Markstrom will start and play the opening period. Georgi Romanov will finish the game and play the final two periods.
TOP LINE
Tonight’s game will give fans their first look at the trio of Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt and Evgenii Dadonov. The triumvirate have played together all preseason, but tonight is the first look at them in game play.
“It’s been really good. Me and Jack understand the game the way that he understands it,” Bratt said. “It worked good in practice. I feel like we had a little chemistry there. Now it’ s a little different when you play games. We’re excited to get that real test in. Every day this training camp we’ve had our line together. I feel everyday got better and better. We’re excited to get in this day.”
Hughes and Bratt have very similar styles of play. They both want the puck. They both dictate and drive play. For Dadonov, head coach Sheldon Keefe wants to see him play a different type of game to compliment them.
“What I want to see from the line is no duplication in jobs and what they’re doing,” Keefe said Monday. “Sometimes there’s duplication with Jack and Bratta and we can’t triple it up. We need proper spacing and someone around the net, that will earn the puck back.
“I’ve seen Dadonov score a lot of goals around the net front, tips, rebounds, all that sort of stuff. That’s what I’m curious to see, if that can come together to make the line whole.”
If Dadonov can do the dirty work on the boards and at the net, while also chipping in his share of goals, it could be a perfect threesome.
“He's a really smart player that has played with talented players over the years,” Bratt said. “He’s extremely smart. He’s got some tricks up his sleeve that he can compliment me and Jack with. And me and Jack with our speed and intensity can help him out too. We can all become better individual players and a better line.”
BACK AT IT
The majority of tonight’s roster will be making their preseason debuts. It’s been a long time for many of them since the last time they laced up the skates. As expected, they’re excited to finally get back in live game action.
“It’s been so many months of training, skating and practicing for a while,” Bratt said. “It’s nice to get that first game in and get back to the normal game day routine. When you go out there for a game, it’s different than a scrimmage or practice. It’s nice to get the rust off.”
“It’s been a while. It’s nice to get going again and get the feel again,” captain Nico Hischier said. “I’m excited to get out there and get going.”
Some hiccups are expected as the players try to get back into a groove with their individual games. But that’s exactly what the preseason is all about.
“Finding the rhythm, finding the timing, getting away from summer hockey,” Hischier said. “Get back into it. That’s what preseason is for. For me, it’s important as well. A couple preseason games is always good to get back at it.”
CASEY UPDATE
Devils defenseman Seamus Casey has yet to appear in a preseason game. Keefe revealed that Casey has been dealing with something, but is expected to play soon.
“He was supposed to play on Sunday (against the Rangers). He tweaked something in that practice Saturday,” Keefe said. “He’s doing a lot better. I just felt giving him couple more days would be the smart thing to do. I would expect to see him Friday if he continues on the path that he is here now.”
