MORNING SKATE RECAP
NEWARK, NJ – The Devils held an optional skate ahead of hosting the New York Islanders. Only five players took part: forwards Nate Bastian and Curtis MacDermid, defensemen Simon Nemec and Daniil Misyul and goaltender Jacob Markstrom.
Goaltender Jake Allen will start.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke to the media during the skate:
On assessing the goaltending:
Not good enough, but they know that. They’re veteran guys. They’re working hard. We have to do a better job in front of them consistently. I thought we did that last night. But over the course of the season there are things we can do to certainly help their cause.
On the status of Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce:
Both guys seemed to come out positively. Some other guys as well, we got nicked up. We’ve got some game-time decisions that we’ll make that will include Luke and Brett. We’re hoping to have them available but we’re hoping to give them ample opportunity throughout the day today to see where they’re at. We’ll have extras in warmup just to be sure.
On lessons from last night’s 5-3 loss at Detroit:
It’s about situational awareness. When you’re leading in shots and scoring chances, but if you don’t score on your chances to blow the game open, you let any NHL team hang around – whether penalties or referees, all these things become factors, if not managed well, will determine the outcome and it will go against you. Look around the league, lots of teams play well and lose.
