Hischier played a full 82 game regular season in his rookie year and up until November 13 against Pittsburgh, had not missed a game this season. The light in the Swiss forwards eyes were shining bright on Tuesday as he inched closer to a return to game action.
"Sitting up there [in the press box] is tough," Hischier said. "When the team is playing well, it's great, you're having fun up there too. But when it's not going well, you want to help. Everyone who is sitting up there wants to be on the ice and help the team win. It's not fun, I'll tell you that."
Hischier centered the first line at practice, returning to his spot between Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri.
"He's a big part of our team," Hall said. "He's a big part of our future, he's our top line center. Hopefully he's ready and healthy to go, maybe even a bit more energized after seeing some games off. He's always in the battles, for his size he battles really hard in front of the net. And he draws a lot of penalties."
Head coach John Hynes and Hischier both confirmed that he should be able to play Wednesday when the Devils host the Montreal Canadiens. He participated in full capacity in practice and was back with the top power play unit.
The addition of Hischier to the power play might provide a slight boost, but coach Hynes is looking for more from every player with the man advantage, which has been without a goal in seven games.
"I don't think one player makes the total difference on the power play," Hynes said. "To add Nico, with his high skill level - I think he does have good chemistry with the guys that are on the power play, but I think the whole unit has to be a little bit stronger, particularly on faceoffs and zone entries as well as decisions to be able to get us set up to be a threatening power play."
Hischier returning to the Devils lineup settles one lineup question ahead of Wednesday evening's game, but the goaltending one has yet to be decided.
Hynes was asked whether Cory Schneider or Keith Kinkaid would get the call to backstop the Devils against the Canadiens. Hynes remained mum, saying he and his coaching staff still needed to have further discussions. When it comes to how Hynes views his goaltending situation and whether it was a 1A/1B type situation, the Devils coach took a moment to explain his thinking.
"I don't think we're there right now," Hynes said. "Keith has played very well, and Cory is working, and he's played some games. Cory is not where he wants to be or where we need him to be right now. So, I don't think we're at that point to say 1A and 1B. Right now, we need Keith to continue to play really well and Cory to keep coming and working at his game and continue to progress like he has and get him up to speed. I think over the course of time, hopefully we get to a point where we have 1A and 1B and it's one where they're constantly challenging each other to play."
