Full Glass
What is especially important if neither Hischier nor Hughes are able to play is that center Cody Glass will return to New Jersey's lineup after missing a game with an injury.
"I felt a lot better putting my skate on, and everything," Glass said. "It fit. So that's a good sign."
Glass, who skated as the Devils' 2C on Saturday morning, centered a familiar line with Arseny Gritsyuk and Lenni Hämeenaho on his wings. It's a line that has been one of the most productive since it was put together against the Calgary Flames a little over a week ago.
"Lenni has just injected some life into us," Glass said. "He's skilled, very hard on the puck. I think we all work together in a good way. They're two young guys who have speed, so I just kind of be that responsible guy that kind of takes of the other things, so let them just play offense and have their skill take over."
A Different Look
The last time these two teams met, the Ottawa Senators looked more like a shell of themselves in terms of injuries. Now, they're up against the Devils as a close to fully healthy lineup. That presents additional challenges for New Jersey, who are up against a team that also likes to thrive off their speed.
"It’s a healthy version of their team that we didn’t see last time we were here,” head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Just their depth that they have. I think you look at it over their four lines, obviously, we didn’t see (Shane) Pinto last time, he’s the guy that kind of pulls it all together for me. He’s their matchup guy, and it allows them to use their other two lines in lots of different situations offensively. (Thomas) Chabot we also didn’t see. They defend well as a team, but they play well on offense, and spend a lot of time in the offensive zone. We’re going to have to manage that, get out of our zone quickly."
Jonas Siegenthaler expressed the same message.
"They’re fast, skilled team," he said. "I think they’re doing a good job, we played them last time here it wasn’t that long ago, but I think we’ve got to make smart puck decisions, don’t feed their offense because they don’t need much to score. If they get an opportunity, they’re skilled enough and fast enough to score.”
Close Quarters
Have a gander at the standings and the Devils and Senators are neck-and-neck. New Jersey, who has played one more game than Ottawa, has 58 points, while Ottawa has 57. Both teams in need of the two points tonight to keep trending up the standings.
“For us, every game is important," Siegentahler said. "Every point we can get will help us, that’s kind of our mentality. Just taking it game-by-game and we just want to do the best out of it. The best case, two points. We’ve just got to stick with it, follow our game plan and work as a unit.”
