Hischier to Miss Game Against Wild | NOTEBOOK

NEWARK, NJ - Preparing to host the Minnesota Wild tomorrow at 5 p.m. the Devils didn't quite have their full lineup at practice on Saturday. Both Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes missed practice, leaving the team down two forwards. 

For updates on Hischier and Hughes, check out today's Devils Notebook!

Hischier Out Against Wild

Nico Hischier will not play against the Minnesota Wild, head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed after today's practice session. Hischier, who was held out of the third period against the Sabres for precautionary reasons, did not take part in today's practice session.

The Devils captain was hit high by Buffalo's Connor Clifton with four minutes to play in the first period. It was a hit that brought Hischier to his knees and Clifton was handed a match penalty and has been suspended for two games.

Beyond the game against the Wild on Sunday, Ruff did not have any further updates on a timeline.

Also absent from practice was Jack Hughes, he took the day off for a maintenance day, with no concerns about his availability to play.

"Any time somebody misses practice you're usually just precautionary, whether it's fatigue or the amount they play, so in Jack's case he'll be ready for tomorrow," shared Ruff.

Two-Game Suspension for Clifton

The Department of Player Safety announced this afternoon that Clifton has received a two-game suspension for the hit. Here are parts of the explanation released by the department that went into their two-game decision:

As the video shows, the Devils bring the puck up ice and Hischier moves towards the wall as a passing option with Clifton pressuring from center. Hischier recieves a pass from a teammate and one-touches it into the Sabres zone.

After he does, Clifton finishes a high, hard check that cuts in front of Hischier’s core making his head the main point of contact on a hit when head contact was avoidable.

If Clifton wants to deliver this hit, Cliftron must stay low and choose an angle that hits through Hischier’s shoulder and core, rather than one that makes the head the main point of contact.

Keep It Down

Only once so far this season, have the Devils kept their opponent to two or fewer goals in a game. Against the Montreal Canadiens, the Devils won 5-2, holding the Canadiens to just two goals. While the Devils have been able to out-score their way to their victories, making sure those goals-against numbers drop is an important step in rounding out their game early in the year. 

“Getting our goals against down is a big key to our success," Tyle Toffoli asserted, "When we’re giving up breakaways, it's not good, relying on our goalies to make really big saves at key points in games, if we can tighten that up I think we’ll be in a good place."

The Minnesota Wild have scored 29 goals this season, the same as New Jersey, in one more game played, and have scored four goals or more in four of their eight games. Even though the Wild have conceded five more goals than they've scored this season, knowing they have similar ability to compete in high-scoring games is a good opportunity for New Jersey to work on the defensive side of their game.