MORNING SKATE RECAP
NEWARK, NJ – The Devils held a full morning skate Saturday at Prudential Center prior to facing the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Center Curtis Lazar was the only absent player from the skate. He missed the last game after a prior knee injury swelled. Head coach Sheldon Keefe said that the team may hold him out of the lineup until after the holidays.
“He’s doing good. They’ve got a handle on it,” Keefe said of Lazar’s injury. “It makes sense with the break coming that we’ll take our time. I’d be very surprised if he wasn’t full go coming out of the break.”
At the morning skate, the Devils flipped wingers Stefan Noesen and Dawson Mercer. They’ve put Noesen back with Nico Hischier and Timo Meier.
“I’ve been mixing it up in the games as well. I’m looking for one of them either way to take hold of their game and the situation,” Keefe said. “Some of it is matchup and opponent based. I haven’t quite found a groove alongside Nico for either guy. We’ll just continue to work our way through that.”
The Devils used the following workflow…
Palat – Hughes – Bratt
Meier – Hischier – Noesen
Cotter – Haula – Mercer
Tatar – Dowling – Bastian
Dillon – Hamilton
Siegenthaler – Kovacevic
Hughes – Pesce
MacDermid – White
Markstrom in the starter’s net.
Home Cooking
The Devils will have a three-game homestand against Pittsburgh, NY Rangers (Monday) and Carolina (Friday). New Jersey is coming off a five-game homestand where the squad went 3-1-1.
“We want to build off the momentum we had at home,” defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic said. “We love playing in front of our fans, obviously. We want to come out with the right details, the right mindset and attitude, moving our feet, being hard and setting the tone, making this a hard building to play in.”
Bounce Back
The Devils are coming off a 4-2 loss in Columbus Thursday night. The club probably deserved better considered New Jersey dominated play and outshot the Blue Jackets 42-20. The Devils just ran into a hot goaltender in Elvis Merzlikins, who was stellar between the pipes.
“We know we’re a good team,” forward Jesper Bratt said. “It doesn’t matter the situation; we believe in the group. The guys that are put on the ice are there to get it done as we have the whole season. Whether we’re going in with a lead or needing a goal, we have a committed group that trusts each other.”
Flightless Birds
The Devils are facing a Penguins team that has gone 8-2-1 in their past 11 games. Pittsburgh has arguably been the best team in the NHL over the past three weeks.
“A team that’s been really going well lately,” Bratt said. “Their speed, their skill. They have a lot of guys that can make good small area plays and attack the ice. A lot of guys that can put the puck in the net. We’re excited to play them and looking to bounce back.”
Keefe pointed out how effective the Penguins have been lately on generating offense at even strength.
“Sheldon was telling us about their 5-on-5 offense. Since they turned it around, they’re probably the top team in the league at generating 5-on-5 offense,” Kovacevic said. “They have a lot of great players over there. It’s going to be a good challenge for us.
“We know they had a tougher start. In the last 10, 15 games they’ve turned it around.”
Pittsburgh has a very active defensive group that likes to join the rush and pinch in on the offensive side. That’s highlighted by the talents of Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang.
“A lot of teams come with that pace from the back end with D being active,” Keefe said. “Most teams in the NHL want to play that way. They just happen to have some of the guys that do it better than most. They’re very dangerous that way.
“These last 10 games they’ve been scoring as well as anybody in the league and they have a lot of confidence coming in here.”
Sid the Role Model
Bratt spoke about his admiration of as well as the challenge of facing Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.
“One of the best players of all time. A player I grew up watching so much over the years,” Bratt said. “A big role model when it comes to working hard and being the best version of yourself every day. Such a special player for the game. A player that I still watch constantly with the way he plays. It’s always exciting facing him.”
