"A lot of division games coming up, a lot of four-point games where we can set ourselves up," Taylor Hall said. "You never want to panic during a season, that will never do anything good, but you really have to make sure you're getting your game back as quickly as possible, and that's what the best teams do."
The Devils are currently trying to find their way out of a six-game winless streak, and have a month of facing mostly Metropolitan Division opponents. The Devils face the Islanders Tuesday night, the Capitals on Thursday and the Flyers on Saturday afternoon.
"We have got to find a way to put an end to it," Cory Schneider said, of the team's slide. "We've got to find a way to win a game, so whatever it takes. There have been moments of the streak we haven't liked, but overall we've done a lot of good things that we're trying to reinforce while cleaning up the mistakes that lead to goals."
Hynes switched things up at practice on Monday, leaving just the first line intact. The lines looked as follows:
Hall-Hischier-Bratt
Johansson-Zajac-Stafford
Hayes-Zacha-Palmieri
Gibbons-Boyle-Noesen
Extra forwards: Wood and Coleman
Greene-Vatanen
Moore-Severson
Butcher-Lovejoy
Mueller-Santini
Schneider
Kinkaid
The Devils will visit the Islanders for the second time in just 10 days on Tuesday. They lost to the Islanders in their last game heading into the bye week.
"Sometimes it's fun to play a team pretty close together," Schneider said. "It got a little chippy there at some points. They're a physical team that has a good blend of skill and grit. They have some guys who will put you through the boards and lay you out if you're not paying attention, and they also have guys who can make plays and make you look silly if you give them too much space. It's a good challenge for us."
Hynes will go with a roster of 12 forwards and six defensemen against the Islanders. With Stefan Noesen drawing in, Blake Coleman will be out as a healthy scratch.
For a third straight day defenseman Mirco Mueller was on the ice with his teammates. He has been out since Nov. 12 with a fractured clavicle that required surgery. With just three practices under his belt since, Mueller is not quite ready to return to the lineup though is getting closer.
