Devils Practice Ahead of Saturday Afternoon Tilt | NOTEBOOK

The Devils hit the ice for an afternoon practice at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Friday. New Jersey is preparing to wrap up their Eastern Canada roadtrip with a Saturday afternoon game against the Senators.
New Jersey had a drills heavy practice, some involving rush situations and others splitting up the forwards and defensemen. The defense practiced getting involved in the offense which has been a strong contribution from the d-core this season.
"We didn't practice the day before the Toronto game, played the game, we needed to get just a short, concise, purposeful practice," Devils head coach Lindy Ruff said about Friday's practice. "Only two drills but have purpose to them. Because we know that Sunday's a day off, and then we start a really busy week where we probably won't practice. It's a league where you have to balance how much energy you're going to expend in practice versus playing four games in six nights."
"We don't want to get away from our game," Dawson Mercer said Friday. "Every night we want to bring it, teams are having trouble playing against us, doing the things back home, at practice, every day. We're out there today, 20 minutes, but we want to get better, we didn't want to take it lightly, we wanted to make sure that we improved, and make sure that we're ready for tomorrow when puck drops."

On A Run:

The Devils are riding an 11 game winning streak, which ties the second-longest winning streak in franchise history. The last time the team had an 11 game win streak was during the 2005-06 season. New Jersey's most recent win was a 3-2 overtime victory against the Maple Leafs in Toronto. Not only are the Devils a perfect 7-0-0 against Canadian opponents this season, they've won all three overtime games.
For the Devils, the current win streak is something unique to be a part of.
"This is pretty special to be part of," Mercer said following Friday's practice. "Every day we're coming to the locker room, day after a win, smiles on our face all the time, and we're still trying to get better, it's really working for us. It's special, we're off to a good start to the season, and we're putting ourselves in a good situation, and we just want to make sure we maintain that and keep it going."
"For us that have been here for awhile, we've been on skids where we lost a lot too, so it's a lot more fun to win and that's the motivation right now," Miles Wood said Friday.
Defenseman Ryan Graves has been part of teams with streaks before, but this one is different.
"I've never been on something like this with a streak home and away. It's been pretty cool to be a part of," Graves said Friday. "It's just a lot of fun. Things are light, obviously life's better when you're winning. It's just made coming to the rink enjoyable, it's brought a lot of fun back into the game for us. And when the game of hockey is fun, it's easier to play, you play with energy, it's easier to have wins come together."

The Statement

What statement does this win streak bring to the rest of the league?
"That we play hard, we play fast, and we're not a joke this year," Wood said. "We're a serious team and that's the best part about it. I've been on the teams where we haven't had success and I think teams kind of took us for granted at times, and they can't say that this year."

Today's Videos:

• PRACTICE RAW: Tatar Following Friday's Practice
• PRACTICE RAW: Mercer Following Friday's Practice
• PRACTICE RAW: Wood Following Friday's Practice
• PRACTICE RAW: Graves Following Friday's Practice
• DEVILS MINUTE: No Jokes

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