MORNING SKATE RECAP
The Devils held a morning skate at Prudential Center Friday morning before busing to UBS Arena for a preseason contest against the New York Islanders. The final preseason contest before the club leaves for Europe to open the regular season in Prague as part of the Global Series against Buffalo.
Defenseman Brett Pesce (leg) joined the group on the ice, though head coach Sheldon Keefe said he will not play in the game.
“He’s not close to playing at this point,” Keefe said. “It’s just encouraging to get him on the ice with more humans. He’s been skating by himself.
“It’s exciting for him to get out there with the guys and great for us to get a look at him. But it’s just a small step in his process.”
Goaltender Jake Allen will start and play the entire game.
The Devils used the following workflow…
Meier – Hughes – Bratt
Palat – Haula – Noesen
Tatar – Hischier – Mercer
Cotter – Lazar - Bastian
Dillon – Hamilton
Zboril – Nemec
Siegenthaler – Kovacevic
(Pesce rotated in on last pairing)
Also of note, blueliner Santeri Hatakka is still being evaluated for an injury that Keefe said is not expected to be “real long-term” but is longer than “day-to-day.”
Final Goal
With tonight’s game being the final before the club heads to Prague, Keefe is looking for the team to be crisper and connect.
“We want to see the system and structure that we’ve been talking about tightened up,” Keefe said. “And our overall game to have more flow to it. We were really choppy the other night. Not really connected from one zone to the next. That led to a lot of broken play. When you break down you’re wasting energy in the wrong places.
“I want us just to be more connected from our zone on out.”
Haula at Me
Center Erik Haula missed the first few days of training camp and will play in his first preseason game tonight.
“Been feeling better every day. I had a fever for six days and it took a toll on me,” Haula said. “It’s frustrating the timing of it.
“I wanted to play three games at the start of camp. That wasn’t really an option. Definitely wanted one game. Everyone needs that. I wouldn’t have felt comfortable going to Prague if I didn’t get back into action.”
Haula worked with Stefan Noesen and Ondrej Palat during the morning skate.
“He’s a veteran player. He knows his body,” Keefe said. “He feels bad not just because he was sick but because he missed camp and missed time. He was really eager and adamant about playing tonight and getting the one game in.
“I’m not worried about him. He’s really worked hard in practice.”
Toe the Line
The Devils are playing the final preseason game before heading to Prague. Which means players will try to play as hard as possible while also trying to keep in mind that they don’t want to get hurt prior to the start of the season.
It’s a fine line to walk.
“The second game your ramp it up a little more, by now this is our third game here,” Noesen said. “It’s our last test before the regular season starts. Now is the time to make that extra effort, making that extra play, doing the little things.”
Enemy Lines
Notable from Andrew Gross of Newsday. He tweeted:
“Patrick Roy says tonight’s preseason game -the fourth of sixth - will be the last in terms of evaluating and experimenting with lineups. Wants the last two games to have a roster close to opening night lineup.”
--Sam Kasan
