NEWARK, NJ - The Devils game group skated mid-morning on Wednesday in Newark prior to what will be a late afternoon bus departure for Madison Square Garden.
They did not skate lines so for the most part, we'll have to guess what the set of forwards and defensemen will look like but Devils head coach Lindy Ruff did have some hints, noting that Andreas Johnsson will be on a line with Pavel Zacha and Jesper Bratt.
Ruff also added that he'd like to see some more production out of Johnsson.
"He's worked extremely hard. He's come to camp in good shape. I'd like to see some production. He's going to get a good opportunity tonight playing with Pav and Bratter," Ruff began.
"I want him to do the right things, play the right way and obviously we need production."
In addition to Johnsson, Zacha and Bratt, Jankowski, McLeod, Foote, Gauthier, Greer, DeLeo, Zetterlund, Geertsen and Studenic will be up front. On defense, Graves, Siegenthaler, Subban, Okhotiuk, Jaros and Bahl.
Ruff was asked what he considered when he put tonight's lineup together.
"Back-to-back games probably factored the most," Ruff added, noting that the Devils play at home tomorrow against the Islanders. "We wanted to balance the team a little bit. Get a certain number of pros into each game. Another look at some of the guys that are in the lineup. Those are the two biggest reasons."
Jonathan Bernier will get the start in goal tonight and will likely go the whole way, according to Ruff.
GEERTSEN'S OPPORTUNITY
Mason Geertsen has had a whirlwind week. Last Friday, he was playing for the Rangers at Prudential Center against the Devils. Then he was claimed off waivers by New Jersey on Sunday and played on Monday against Washington. He gets another chance tonight against his old teammates.
"I'm just going in as a Devil. I don't play there anymore," Geertsen noted. "Just go there and play my game.
"I just want to show that I can play. I can get pucks in deep and be a functional player out there."
Geertsen is a physical force who will sometimes drop the gloves. He was asked if he might engage one of his former teammates tonight.
"I want to see how the game goes. You don't want to put too much pressure on things and force things."
KEEPING IT ROLLING
The Devils have won all four preseason games but given the nature of preseason games, it's not something the team is putting a lot of stock into. Ruff noted that they haven't given it a lot of thought.
"We really haven't talked a lot about wins. We've talked about playing the game the right way. I thought last game, the second period we really let down. We gave up some odd-numbered situations where if you're leading the game it wasn't good hockey," he said.
"We talked about having good habits and continuing good habits, getting ready for the season."
Ruff added that the most important thing is how the team has played and he's been largely happy with that.
"We did three of the four games really well. The Bridgeport game we were off but got it on track in the second and third so overall better than average."
-- Marc Ciampa, NewJerseyDevils.com
