COLUMBUS, OH. -The Devils added forward A.J. Greer and defenseman Colton White to their taxi squad on Friday. And they're going to need them.
Forward Nathan Bastian is the latest Devil to enter the NHL's COVID-19 protocol. He joins Yegor Sharangovich, Pavel Zacha, Andreas Johnsson, Mason Geertsen and Dougie Hamilton, who also has a broken jaw.
Meanwhile, forward Jesper Bratt is awaiting a second test result. He may also enter protocol.
Lineup Adjustments
Greer will slide into the lineup for Bastian.
"A.J. had real good reviews," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "I talked to (Utica head coach) Kevin (Dineen) and he's really high on how hard he's competed, real good two-way game, physical, great in the one-on-one battles. I expect the same."
If Bratt is unable to play, the Devils will have to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
"It looks like that's probably the way we'll go if Jesper is confirmed," said Ruff, who expected to get that result "sometime soon."
The Devils will have to adjust their power-play unit with all the absences as well as Zacha, Hamilton, Bastian and now maybe Bratt are out.
"Some of the players on that second unit will fill the holes on that first unit," Ruff said. "A guy like (Tomas) Tatar is back now. He'll go in there. We can take a guy like (Dawson) Mercer, that right-handed shot that we think is important around that front of the net."
However, these absences also create opportunities.
"I'd be pretty excited if I was a player because you're going to get a bigger opportunity," Ruff said. "We've got guys that haven't been on power-play units that will be on power-play units. We've got guys that haven't killed a lot of penalties will kill some penalties."
Home-and-Home
Instead of making adjustments game-to-game and based on opponent, the Devils have a chance to make more fine-tuned adjustments against the Blue Jackets, thanks to seeing them twice in a row in the home-and-home series.
"It's like a playoff series when you play teams back-to-back, and we dealt with a lot of that last year playing teams two or three times," Ruff said. "We know they'll make some adjustments off of the opportunities that we got. We're going to make adjustments the same way. We have to make further adjustments with the lineup that we have."
Greer Time
Greer will get a chance to display his talents for the Devils, making his season debut with the club this evening.
"It's very exciting for me. An opportunity to show what I can do again," he said. "This team has had some success in the last few games. I'm just trying to slot in and add a little bit more to what the group is doing right now."
Greer has four goals and 15 points in 22 games for Utica. And he's looking to add his 6-foot-3, 210-pound frame to the Devils lineup.
"I do have to use my size," said Greer, who appeared in one NHL game last season with the Devils. "The speed of my game is definitely important. I can create space for my linemates. Whatever situation I'm in I'll try to do those things and bring what I can."
1K
Blue Jackets forward Jakub Voracek played in his 1,000th NHL game Thursday night at New Jersey. He will be honored in a pre-game ceremony before puck drop Saturday night.
"He's one heck of a player," Ruff said of him. "When you look at his career, I coached a lot against him when he was in Philadelphia, great power-play guy, great skater, great speed. His all-around game I don't think he gets enough credit for. He can beat you offensively and plays real well defensively. A lot of times those are the guys that will always play the number of games they play in this league."
