Devils Reflect on Winning Feeling Ahead of Hosting Sharks | NOTEBOOK

In preparation to host the San Jose Sharks tomorrow afternoon, the Devils were on the ice for a 25-minute practice today. The shorter than the usual practice, the Devils have played and practiced a lot of hockey over the last week, and spent a good portion working on special teams, while also getting the legs moving to gear up for tomorrow's game.
Nathan Bastian was the only one missing from the practice, he was out with a lower-body issue. As for his availability tomorrow, Lindy Ruff will address the media tomorrow prior to the game.

Powerful Cohesion

Although the power play only has one goal so far this season, against the Islanders there was a cohesion that is becoming apparent, with the Devils holding the offensive zone for lengthy periods, getting shots through and making crisp passes. Little time on Thursday was wasted having to re-enter the zone and set up. The missing piece is the finish, which will, Jesper Bratt says, eventually come.
"We are starting to get the chemistry back a little bit," Bratt said after practice. "It's just that small little detail that little last percentage that has to click, that's what we work on. We are working on it daily and it's going to get better soon."

That Winning Feeling

he spirit was light in the room, the air of two straight victory flowing through. It creates a different atmosphere, not loose, but also not tense. The two wins in a row, Tomas Tatar hopes, will serve as a good reminder going forward through the season. Not only is it fun to win, but it's important to remember the feeling of winning and what it took to get there.
"It's just fun, you know, to be a part of winning and that whole mentality," he said, "I think we have something that we have to cherish, and just build off it, and remember the days, how it felt, how good it feels to win."

'It Felt Crazy'

The team was probably not the only one feeling this way after a zero-zero draw after 20 minutes of play against the Islanders. Ilya Sorokin was phenomenal in net for the Islanders, but Tatar suggests the Devils didn't let that creep into any mindset they had, continuing to push the same pace as the second period opened.
"To me, it felt crazy," Tatar said with a smirk, "It's a zero-zero game (after the first). Everyone really stepped up there, we played as a full team. Everybody played so well. Like I said, we just have to build off it. It got a little scary if you don't find the net after a period like that, but we stayed with it, continued to play that way and we won."

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- PLAYER INTERVIEWS: Bratt | Tatar - REWIND: Island Win - POST-GAME RAW: Palat | Hughes | Blackwood | Ruff