PRE-GAME STORY
NEWARK, N.J. - The Devils are starting a three-game homestand Tuesday night against the Penguins, and the lineup will have some changes.
Forward Jack Hughes and defenseman John Marino were the only players missing from morning skate. Interim head coach Travis Green shared that Marino will not play tonight (upper-body); however, Hughes will play. Green also shared that forward Nolan Foote got hurt ahead of the three-game road trip out west and he’s not skating yet.
New Jersey is focused on snapping a two-game losing skid tonight to start a three-game homestand. To bring their best effort, the Devils will need to focus on the details.
"When we play fast, when we battle hard," Captain Nico Hischier explained. "When we compete in pucks, winning lanes, all that kind of stuff. When we do the little things right, we are (playing) our best."
The Devils are six points back from a playoff spot, and the race is tight in the Eastern Conference. Although New Jersey focuses on a game at a time, the team knows the significance of this week.
“It’s a big week, it’s important to win tonight, can’t look too far ahead,” Erik Haula discussed pre-game. “Pittsburgh is a good team. We’ve had success against them previously but they’re going to be pushing themselves, they’re good. All focus on today, take it a game at a time but I would say this is a humongous week. If we keep losing points this week, we’re done.”
Defense, defense, defense
The Devils had a solid defensive effort in their last game against the Golden Knights and that will be important again against the Penguins. Pittsburgh is averaging 5.33 goals for in their last three games and they have the third-highest shots on goal in the NHL as they average 33.3 a contest.
"I think a lot of what we did against Vegas, I thought we played really tight," Nick DeSimone shared about the Devils playing strong defensively. "Obviously Jake (Allen) played a great game. But I thought defensively we played really detailed, killed plays when we could, moved pucks. Jake made the first save and then we cleaned everything up from there."
Hischier discussed some of the details that allows the Devils to play well defensively.
"Tape to tape passes, breaking out the puck fast," Hischier explained. "That's when we can get to our offense. I think (when) we are well structured, we don't give up too much in the slot, or net front which are high danger chances. Got to limit those and that's when we're (playing) our best. Just playing fast."
Back to Allen
The Devils will turn to Jake Allen against the Penguins for his third game in a Devils sweater. Through his first two games played for New Jersey he has a .945 save percentage and is averaging 2.02 goals against. Green discussed Allen’s play pre-game:
“He looks sharp, he’s looked like a veteran goalie that makes all the saves he should. Every night you see a couple that, in today’s game, you’re like ‘wow that’s a big save’ and you need that this time of year and he’s given that to us in his two games.”
Staying Fresh
During the road trip there were times that Devils players got caught on longer shifts. When it came to playing the Golden Knights, a point of emphasis was keeping shorter shifts so each player on the ice could bring a high level of energy and execute. Green discussed focusing on good shift lengths pre-game.
“We have keys to our game every game, and one of our keys (in Vegas) was shift length. We wanted to keep our shifts shorter than normal,” Green explained. “When you’re tired and you try to defend or you try to score, you try to win a puck battle, it’s a lot harder than when you’re fresh.”
This time of year games are close and teams are bringing more desparation on the ice to win. The Devils will need each player to be mindful of their time on ice to bring a high compete level against the Penguins, especially as they just returned from a demanding road trip.
"I think at this time of year every team is pretty desparate," Nick DeSimone shared. "From top to bottom, no matter where a team is in the standings. It's pretty desparate time of year for everybody. But you start a homestand you want to start it off on the right foot for sure."
They Said It:
Interim head coach Travis Green on the atmosphere around the team and keeping the group positive through it all:
“It’s an emotional time of year. Obviously with what has gone on around here with the trade deadline, coaching change, fighting for a playoff spot, new players coming in, new players leaving. There’s been a lot of different things going on and as coaches and a coaching staff we’re aware of that and we’re trying to stay upbeat. I always go back to being honest with the group about what’s going on with the group, what’s going on with their game, how they played, and I think that’s the best way as far as teaching as well. You need to be honest with your group to get better and to assess your play, not only as a team but also individually. If you want to improve you have to be able to understand where your game is at. I think that’s what we’ve been concentrating on as a group, but also understand that they’ve got to have energy as well.”
