Devils Replicate Game Pace at Practice | NOTEBOOK

After a day off on Sunday, the Devils began their work week with a practice at Prudential Center this morning.
The hour-long session began with intense one-on-one battles at the net front, playing trying to out-muscle the other for positioning in front of the goaltender. The pace of practice replicated that of an intense game, as the team tries to get back on track with a big week ahead.
"Good habits start in practice," the captain Nico Hischier said, "We want to go out there and become better on the ice. We worked on stuff today that we want to do better, in a high, intense level. You have to practice the way you play, so I liked the kind of practice we had today."
The Devils have games against two Western Conference teams this week, hosting the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday and an afternoon matchup with the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, while the club travels to visit the Islanders on Thursday night.

Devil in the Details

On Saturday, several players discussed their dissatisfaction not only with the way the club has started but also with the defensive zone play. Today, practice aimed to replicate the quick decision-making of a game, with a primary focus on defensive zone coverage.
"What we do here it's like so you don't have to think too much during a game. It's just rep, after rep," Hischier said snapping his fingers to the pace of how quickly drills took place today, "just so it's natural to you to be in that spot, that's how you do these drills. During a game, obviously there's stuff happening you can't predict, you have to play hockey in the end, but if you have the right routes in your system, and naturally you're going to be there, it definitely helps, so that's the goal."

Haula's Versatility

It may just be through two games, but Erik Haula has been a force to reckon with at the face-off dot. He's been heavily leaned upon, both in the preseason and in these opening two games to start the year. He's taking a team-high 41 faceoffs, with a 75.6 percent success rate (31 wins, 10 losses).
There is no one least surprised at those numbers than Hischier who quipped 'Not impressed, I've had faceoff's against him already, he's good in the dot."
But Haula is far more than that, as Hischier explains. Having a player like him, versatile and a lengthy career already, he's an important piece of the puzzle.
"He's bringing a lot to this squad," Hischier continued, "He can play in any situation, that's huge. Not a lot of players do that, that's definitely huge. He knows what it takes, he's been around the league for a while, he's always got some good imput. He's always telling us stuff that we can learn from. He's a guy that's competitive as well. That's what we need here.

Thompson Returns to Utica

It hasn't been an easy start to the last two seasons for Tyce Thompson. Injured early last season and again this year, the same thing again happened this year. Today, Thompson was returned to the Utica Comets after recovering from his injury. Earlier this week, Thompson joined the Devils optional morning skate in a non-contact jersey, today he was back in a regular jersey and is ready to rejoin his teammates in Utica.

The Tweaks

Every forward line at practice today had at least one tweak, with the most notable being Alexander Holtz taking a spot on the top-line wing with Nico Hischier at center and Ondrej Palat on the left.
Nathan Bastian was a healthy scratch on Saturday night against the Detroit Red Wings but was back practicing on the fourth line with Michael McLeod and and Tomas Tatar. Fabian Zetterlund, who entered the lineup against the Red Wings, was dropped down with Jesper Boqvist and Thompson.

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