"Any time you get to spend some time away from the rink and relax a little bit it's good mentally and physically," Kyle Palmieri said. "Everyone got to reset and come in and get a practice in. We're looking forward to a big stretch of games here for us and hopefully be successful and get things rolling in the right direction."
The Devils will play game No. 42 of the season in their first game back from the bye week. And to get rolling in the right direction, as Palmieri said, they will have a big rivalry night Saturday when the Devils play against the Philadelphia Flyers for the first time this season.
"It's always an emotional game," Palmieri said. "We've had a game plan that we've executed and had some success with it. I think it's a Saturday night at home, coming off a break. Fans are excited, we're excited and we're just looking to get out there and have some fun when they drop the puck."
The game will also mark the first time Devils forward Nico Hischier and Flyers forward Nolan Patrick, who went first and second overall respectively in the 2017 NHL Draft, will face off against one another in an NHL game. For Hischier, to play against Patrick is just another game.
"For me it's just Devils against Flyers," Hischier said. "Not me versus Nolan, so just another game but a big game.
"I heard about this rivalry and it will be a good crowd tonight. It's just fun to play those games, because division games are always important. We have to be ready to play our game."
Coach John Hynes echoes Hischier's statements, and attributes Hischier downplaying the one-on-one matchup to how humble a player he is.
"He's really doing the right things," Hynes said. "The media builds it up but it's really Flyers/Devils. They're one guy on each team, so for a young guy to be able to have that [humble] response is very mature but it's not just playing the role, he's absolutely right on what it is."
Hynes will make some lineup changes against the Flyers. Drew Stafford, who sat out the previous seven games, will draw back into the lineup with Stefan Noesen sitting out.
"He's a big part of our team," Hynes said. "[Stafford] is a guy that's got experience, he's a great leader, he's worked hard. You know it's competitive to be in the lineup and all the choices are hard. But we are a team."
On defense, Damon Severson is back in the lineup with Steven Santini sitting out.
Cory Schneider will get the start.
