Devils Continue On Despite Absences | BLOG

The Devils have had a solid start to the season with a record of 8-5-3. That ties them for 17th in NHL standings with the Flyers and the Cup-contending Colorado Avalanche but also only four points behind 8th-place Tampa Bay in a 32-team League.
They've been able to accomplish this without arguably their best offensive player in Jack Hughes who has only played one full game -- the season opener -- and goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood who missed the first month with a heel injury.
"We don't think about it too much," Hamilton said of the Hughes absence. "Blackie missed the first little bit, too. We've got a really good team and the process of learning to be together, working on things every day, improving. For me, I don't look at standings every day. Just focus on winning the next day and you'll end up in a good spot.
"Hopefully we can get going and when Jack's back we can get even better."
Hughes skated with the team for a bit at practice on Monday but was off the ice against Tuesday, all part of the normal recovery process. Hamilton added that more so than Jack's return, improvement hinges on the team improving its fundamentals.
"We've worked on a lot of stuff system-wise. We can still get a lot better at certain things. Working on power play and special teams. Special teams is huge. The best teams in the League are usually the best special teams teams," Hamilton began.
"Keep working on that. We've got to keep practicing and working on stuff," he continued. "We worked on our neutral zone last time we had a break and that really helped us."