Devils Hold Light Practice | NOTEBOOK

The Devils practice Friday afternoon at the RWJ Barnabas Health Hockey House at Prudential Center. The team made it a light practice due to the large amount of games and little rest time available during this stretch of its schedule.
Nine players took part: Jesper Bratt, Yegor Sharangovich, Kevin Bahl, Jesper Boqvist, Brendan Smith, Fabian Zetterlund, Michael McLeod, Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T the Game

After the Devils win against the LA Kings on Thursday one of the running themes post-game was how the team felt they did not 'respect the game' during the first period.
"I think we were trying to play a little too fancy," Jesper Bratt said today after practice, "and we were getting away from our structure and our details in the game. when you're playing against such a good team like LA, you're going to pay for it. The whole first period was kind of a wake-up call for us to really get back together as a group. I think from then on, we played some really solid hockey."
The team, in the first intermission, spoke about it amongst themselves, calling their play unacceptable and needing to turn themselves around.
"We've got to start on the right foot every single game, we can't let these teams have the first period up on us every time," Bratt added. "We all feel as a group we can play against all the best teams in the league. We're up there. We have got to know from each other what makes us successful and respect that and not getting away from it."
The conversation in the first intermission turned things around and the club went on to win 4-3 in overtime.
"That shows our leadership, our mentality as a whole unit," Bratt continued. "We really come together and make it work. It's not just guys talking and saying the right things, we actually show it too."

Hungry For More

What was also noticeable in turning the game around against the Kings was the full-team effort. So many of these players have been together since their first days in the league and have been through tough seasons ot begin their careers. It is part of that experience, Bratt says, that has given them the drive to want more for themselves, even when they've found success.
"We are an extremely committed group," Bratt said, "All of us have grown individually in taking bigger steps. But at the same time, its obviously about some previous seasons and how it went down. We've had some success so far this season that makes us really hungry, that makes us want even more. I think that bonds us all together."
What it comes down to is the close-knit group the Devils have become over the years and how they now have some of the younger voices emerging as bigger voices in the room, carrying plenty of weight. That's how you start to build a winner.
"Obviously it's important to have guys and a committed group that stands up together and makes sure everyone is on the right foot," Bratt said, "We want so much from each other, we put some high expectations on each other so obviously coming out like that (against LA) is not acceptable for us as a group."

2003 Champs in Town

Don't forget that on Saturday night the Devils will be honoring the 2003 Stanley Cup champions, welcoming back to New Jersey several members of the 2002-03 Devils team. It will be a night to celebrate, 20 years on, the third Cup in franchise history with the players who all made it possible.
If you want to do some reminiscing, make sure to visit the official
Devils 2003 Cup Hub
for videos, stories and more!

In Case You Missed It:

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- REWIND: Comeback Kings - 2003 CUP MEMORIES: Stevens on Team Depth - 2003 CUP MEMORIES: Mike Rupp's Winner - 2003 CUP MEMORIES: Daneyko's Last Game