Honorable Mention
The first group to hit the ice today for the Devils was an NHL-heavy roster, with most of New Jersey's regulars skating. Notable were a couple of line tweaks with Arseny Gritsyuk moving onto a line with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt.
"It’s really honorable to play with those guys," Gritsyuk said through translation from defenseman Dmitri Osipov. "Because you just give them the puck and keep yourself open and nine times out of ten you’re going to get the puck and you’re going to get a scoring chance.”
Gritsyuk is continuing to adapt to the North American game and has played in all three preseason games to start. He's expected to line up with Hughes and Bratt tomorrow as well. As for his adaptation, Sheldon Keefe continues to push growth.
“Away from the puck, he’s been good," Keefe said. "He’s got good instincts, he’s a good player. For him, the things that we’ve talked mostly about is his play with the puck and managing it. It’s a fine line for any player that has talent and ability and confidence offensively, and you feel like you can make something happen all the time. He’s turned the puck over way more than we would like it to be, but at the same time, he’s made plays, he’s scored too. We’ve just got to keep working with him on that balance as the hockey gets better and the competition gets better and managing of the puck becomes that much more important. So that’s the next piece that he’s learning about now.”
