Zajac's status remains unclear for Thursday night's game, he will still have to meet with team trainers before that decision is made. At practice, Zajac was being used as the extra forward.
"My leg got tangled up," Zajac said. "Now I'm just trying to see how I feel. How comfortable I am on the ice. It's about making sure there's no hesitation in my skating and things like that. That was all good today, so I feel like that's a good sign. We'll just see how everything goes from here on out."
The Devils have followed up their first two losses of the season with three days of extensive practice. Head coach John Hynes used the opportunity to get in some strong work ethic. Hynes says that to have a team like Nashville (7-2-0) as New Jersey's next opponent is a prime opportunity.
"It's important," Hynes said. "Even in the last few days they've had that hanging over their heads. We've got to be ready to play, we have a team that's picked to possibly win the Stanley Cup, and they're coming off a loss. I couldn't ask for anything better."
Regardless of whether Zajac plays or not, Hynes still has other decisions to make when it comes to his lineup. With defenseman Ben Lovejoy on the injured reserve list, there is an opening on defense that needs to be filled. Both Eric Gryba and Egor Yakovlev were called up earlier this week and both are vying for that spot.
"Gryba had a fantastic training camp," Hynes said. "He's been here and brings a different element. He's big strong, a shutdown kind of guy. He has a physical element. Yakovlev went down to the American League and has played well. He's one of the top-rated D-men down there in our in-house rankings. A little bit different [than Gryba]. We'll have a discussion this afternoon and decide what we feel is the best thing for the team we're going to play tomorrow and what do we think is the best fit for the current D-corps that we have."
Hynes also provided updates on Ben Lovejoy and Jesper Bratt as both skated on their own this morning. Bratt is approaching the three-week mark since his injury and will see team doctors on Thursday before any determination is made about the forward rejoining practice.
Lines at practice:
Hall-Hischier-Palmieri
Johansson-Zacha-Dea
Wood-Coleman-Quenneville
Boyle-Rooney-Noesen
Zajac
Mueller-Vatanen
Greene-Severson
Butcher-Gryba/Yakovlev
Kinkaid
Lack
