Vatanen eager to return to lineup

Sami Vatanen is one step closer to no longer being "bored."

Vatanen described his time away from the New Jersey Devils with a concussion "boring" on Sunday morning after meeting with the media for the first time since suffering a concussion against the Pittsburgh Penguins and put on Injured Reserve on January 30th. On Sunday, Vatanen skated with his teammates for the first time as the club prepares to host the Buffalo Sabres in an early 6 p.m. start.
"It's a big thing for me," Vatanen said. "There are more guys on the ice with me, makes you have to be ready all the time. I hadn't passed any pucks yet, so it was fun to be back. It started to be a little bit boring to be at home and just be there doing nothing."
Joining Vatanen at morning skate was Blake Coleman who is also on Injured Reserve, though neither will play against the Sabres.
"It's a significant step that he could come out with the team today," Hynes said of Vatanen's recovery plan. "He has been skating and is feeling better. He's on that progression to get back fairly quickly."
Another Devil who won't suit up against the Sabres in Pavel Zacha, who sustained an upper-body injury against the Minnesota Wild. He is considered 'day-to-day'.
Cory Schneider, fresh off his victory against the Minnesota Wild will return to the net to backstop the Devils at Prudential Center. With a first regular-season win since December 2017 under his belt and a long road to recovery from off-season hip-surgery, Schneider has zero plans on changing how he prepares for his start tonight, despite the proverbial 'monkey off his back.'
"You know [the win-loss record] is there - you're not oblivious to it," Schneider said. "But it does no good to dwell on it. At the end of the day, [now] it's still only one [win] out of a number of games. So, for me, it's about getting back to winning more often than not. Generally, if you play well, you give your team a chance. It is about the result at the end of the day, but for a goalie sometimes it's how you feel about your game, where you're at and if you feel like you're giving your team the best chance we have."
Added Schneider: "I'm not trying to change my approach at all. I try to approach every game the same way. Hopefully, for me and my group, it's the start of something that we can build off of. I just want to try and string some consecutive performances back-to-back here. As far as I go, my approach is the same every night."
For New Jersey native Kenny Agostino, Sunday's game against the Sabres will be the first he suits up in a red home Devils jersey. Agostino was claimed off of waivers earlier this week and met the team in St. Louis, his first three games with the Devils took place on the road. Sunday he'll have his parents, extended family, and friends in the crowd as he takes to Prudential Center ice as a member of the home team.
"It was a bit of an odd situation [joining the team on the road] but the guys were really welcoming," Agostino said sitting in his stall at Prudential Center for the first time. "Having those guys and the coaching staff and trainers [be so welcoming] made it easier. Having an off-day at home yester was a chance to reset and exhale. It feels good to be here."
Agostino has to-date had a smooth transition into the system John Hynes and his coaching staff has put into place with the Devils. Agostino has two assists in his first three games, playing roughly 16 shifts per game.
"Kenny has come in and done a nice job," coach Hynes said. "He gives some size to our lineup, he's a good skater, he is tenacious and strong on the puck - you can tell he's been around and a seasoned pro in the sense that his attention to detail is strong. He said that Montreal's system and our system are similar so it hasn't been a big adjustment for him which is nice when you can get a player that comes from a lot of the same tactical things. We're encouraged to see him continue to play well."
Also encouraging for Hynes is that Agostino has - in just five days as a member of the Devils - picked up on the team's strong culture that Hynes and general manager Ray Shero has continued to build.
"He's already talking the same lingo," Hynes said after hearing Agostino appreciation for the 'brotherhood' mentality. "That's what we have continued to do - talk about our culture. We continue to talk to our team all about it. There are numerous reasons why you win and lose games, but the one thing that stands strong and you have to have is a strong culture, through the good times and the bad times. Last year we can't talk about brotherhood and have a strong culture because we were a playoff team and then a year later just because the results aren't what we wanted that that changes. It's nice to hear, that he understands what it is and that a guy can come into your team, see it and buy into it. That's something that we've talked about and continue to preach and [Agostino seeing and buying in] is evidence right there that it's really strong."
The Devils held a morning skate although they did not participate in any line rushes. How the Devils line up against the Sabres will be revealed during a pre-game warmup at 5:30 p.m.