Devils Practice at Northeastern U | NOTEBOOK

The Devils are practicing at Northeastern University's Matthews Arena Sunday afternoon.

Stay tuned to the notebook for the latest info, updates, interviews, videos and more from the practice session!

Practice Info

The Devils held an optional skate on Sunday afternoon. It was pretty well attended.

Same System, New Attitude

The Devils have played some of their best hockey in the past two games despite missing a number of their key players in the lineup. And while the system hasn’t changed, the team’s attitude and execution of that system is a big reason why they are 1-0-1 on their current three-game road trip.

“We’re playing the same system. The difference it’s a lot of players out there without as much leash to do whatever they want,” forward Nathan Bastian said. “You can’t really afford to make mistakes in very specific areas.”

The Devils haven’t committed costly turnovers or made glaring positional mistakes. They’ve tightened up in a lot of areas and the results have been evident. New Jersey earned a point in Tampa in a 4-3 overtime setback and ended Florida’s winning streak at nine games after beating the Panthers, 4-1, Saturday night.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Bastian said. “It goes to show the depth in the organization. The culture we’ve build, when we’re missing guys, and not just guys but really important pieces out of the lineup, in different guys have really stepped up. We talked about everybody wants more ice time. Here you go. Everybody is trying to make the most of it.”

The Devils finish their three-game road swing in Boston Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET.

“We’ve strung together two good games it would be nice to finish off,” Bastian said.

Checking Mentality

Part of the Devils recent success has been their play in critical facets of the game.

Against the Panthers, the Devils blocked 21 shots. Forward Dawson Mercer was stung after blocking a shot and left the game, but was able to return.

The Devils also made a lot of smart plays inside the game: chipping pucks out, safe outlets, staying above the opposing team.

“Part of it is we know we’re missing a lot of big pieces. Everybody is coming up, showing up every single game, every single practice,” defenseman Kevin Bahl said. “We just know where we are in the standings these are must wins. These aren’t games we can throw away and make excuses. We need to win these games. You can tell. Everyone is showing up, everybody is putting on their work boats, winning battles, blocking shots, taking hits.”

Devils head coach Lindy Ruff compared the win in Florida to the way the team played in Tampa.

“We came out hard. We played hard. Won a lot of battles. Checked hard,” Ruff said. “The things I’ve been most impressed with is the checking mentality.

"We said we're going to have to win different ways. Hard compete and hard battles. The quality of chances may go down. I still think we can generate around the net and generate by being really tough on the opposition. I think we've proven that to ourselves."

He Said It:

McLeod on his second-line center role: "It's been awesome playing with (Jesper) Bratt and (Tyler Toffoli). They're great players that make some plays. It's been a lot of fun. Working with them, reading off them and trying to get to the net."