Brenden Dillon and Dougie Hamilton were reunited in morning skate, while Brett Pesce and Johnathan Kovacevic were paired together. Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec, who played together last season, were paired together Thursday morning. Pesce will move over to the left side, something he hasn't done in several years, but is up for the challenge.
"It's just different," Pesce said about switching sides. "Just pivoting, and offensive zone, and you're just on your backhand a lot. Obviously it'll take a little time, hopefully not too much. I try to keep the game simple anyway, so that's what I'll try to do."
Shifting pairings isn't the only way the defensive core will be impacted, they'll all have to step up to fill the void left by Siegenthaler's strong play.
“Heck of a player,” Pesce said on Siegenthaler. “I didn’t really know much about him until I played here but he’s so steady and so solid, and he does a lot of heavy lifting for us. It’s a big hole that we’re going to need to fill and everyone else is going to have to step up.”
“He’s one of those guys that does many, many things that maybe don’t show up on the score sheet, but it ends up in us having two points,” Cotter said on Siegenthaler. “It’s a huge loss. It’s kind of a little wind taken out of the sail, but that’s what happens with teams and we now have Nemo up. He’s a really skilled defensemen so for him to get another kick at the can is awesome to see. Times like this, guys get new opportunities to be able to step up so I think we should be alright.”
Facing His Former Team
Paul Cotter was traded to the New Jersey Devils from the Vegas Golden Knights last off-season and this will be the forward’s first time facing his former team in the NHL.
“It’s weird,” Cotter said about facing Vegas. “I saw a few of them poking their heads out during morning skate. That’s definitely going to be weird seeing their lineup, (it) was different. But at the end of the day they know my style of play, they know I’m coming so that’ll be cool to play against those guys.”
Finishing the Week Strong
The Devils have two games left before the Four Nations break, tonight against the Golden Knights, and Saturday in Montreal against the Canadiens. With four wins in their last six games, New Jersey is building momentum and stringing together better performances. Tonight will be a critical game to win and pick up points after a tough stretch in January.
“We need two points,” Pesce said on today’s game. “Our game hasn’t quite been there for quite some time now, or at least where we would like it to be. These next few games are so important for us to grab points and find our identity again and get our confidence going before the break.”
Hischier Injury Update
Head Coach Sheldon Keefe also gave an injury update on Captain Nico Hischier following morning skate:
“He’s back on the ice. He’s not going to be available at this point this week,” Keefe said. “The way it’s trending it would be a surprise if he wasn’t available when we return from the break.”
*Read more here*.
