MORNING SKATE RECAP
NEWARK, NJ. - The Devils held a full morning skate at Prudential Center on Wednesday prior to hosting the Buffalo Sabres.
Center Jack Hughes did not join the team due to late night travel from Washington, but he is expected to suit up and play tonight for the club. Luke Glendening filled Hughes’ spot during morning skate drills.
The team used the following workflow…
Meier – Hischier – Mercer
Bratt – (Glendening) – Brown
Gritsyuk – Glass – Hameenaho
Cotter – Bjugstad – Tsyplakov
Pesce – Kovacevic
Siegenthaler – Hamilton
Dillon – Nemec
Goalie Jake Allen is starting.
Full Go
Hughes is expected to rejoin his team for tonight’s game and the expectation from head coach Sheldon Keefe is that he is a full go.
“He got in late last night so it was a matter of giving him an opportunity to get extra rest,” Keefe said of his absence from morning skate. “It’s been a whirlwind for him but he’ll come in and get ready to go for tonight.”
Keefe said he doesn’t plan on limiting Hughes’ minutes or playing time in any fashion, though there are still things unknown at this time.
“That’s not my intention going into it, but I don’t even know what we’re getting into,” he said. “He’s been so busy that it’s been hard to communicate much with him. We’ll see where he’s at when he gets here today. Getting proper rest is the most important thing. We’ll see where he’s at and take him from there. My intention is t play him as I normally would. Knowing Jack, he wants to be full in if he’s going to play. We just have to assess where he’s at and maybe that won’t be determined until he gets into a game.”
Gold on the Ceiling
As far as Hughes’ return, he’ll be walking into a room that’s excited to see him. As well as a group that was ecstatic that he scored the Golden Goal.
“I watched the end of the game. Really exciting hockey game,” forward Timo Meier said. “I didn’t really have a favorite but for Jack to score that goal, that’s incredible. He must have had a couple exiting days for sure.
“We were all excited for him to score that goal.”
It was bittersweet for Keefe, who is Canadian. He had mixed allegiances, but was obviously very happy for his center.
“From my perspective, you’re a Canadian guy watching and pulling for both sides,” Keefe said. “Particularly, want Jack to come through and have a good moment. You’re riding his puck touches the entire game. Then to land on his stick, you see that play developing. Had a pretty good sense when it landed on his stick in that spot he was going to make good on it. It was pretty exciting from there. We jumped off the chair pretty quickly when it happened. Just thrilled for him.”
Carry Over
Hughes wasn’t the only Devil player to really excel in the Olympics. Meier had three goals and seven points during the tournament. Simon Nemec was one of the best defensive players overall in the Olympics and goalie Jacob Markstrom played an incredible game against the Americans in the quarterfinals.
Keefe is hoping that success can carry over.
“Hopefully it goes a long way,” he said. “You hope that can help when they come back and translate to the NHL. It’s going to be interesting to see. It might be different for every team and every player.
“The guys that have come back, they look like they haven’t missed a beat. If anything, they’ve got a little extra pep in their step.”
That includes Meier, who accredited his success to the overall vibe of his team and Olympic experience.
“Playing hard, but also having fun. I think that was the key,” Meier said. “Excited to play there. And I’m excited to play here and be back and try to bring onto the ice.
“You have to take that energy and bring it into here. Use all the good energy I was able to get over there, bring it here and rock 'n roll.”
