MORNING SKATE RECAP
EDMONTON, Alberta – The Devils held an optional morning skate at Rogers Place in Edmonton ahead of facing the Oilers.
Players that took part were forwards Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, Tomas Tatar, Paul Cotter, Stefan Noesen, Justin Dowling and Kurtis MacDermid, defenseman Simon Nemec and goaltenders Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen.
Lineup
With the loss of forward Nathan Bastian to a jaw injury, the club will be down another man heading into the game against Edmonton. The Devils have two options, either insert forward Kurtis MacDermid in place of Bastian or played 11 forwards and seven defensemen by adding blueliner Simon Nemec to the lineup.
The coaching staff debated both options, but ultimately landed on having MacDermid play.
“Kurtis will come into play,” head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “We talked about 11-7, trying to get Nemec involved. We decided that seven is a little too disruptive to the defense group that, for the most part, has played quite well for us. We didn’t want to disrupt that and we wanted to get Kurtis in.”
No McDavid
The Devils will be facing an Oilers team that won’t have Connor McDavid, the best player in the NHL. He missed the past two games with an ankle injury, though he did skate Monday morning on his own.
The Oilers have won both games without McDavid, a 5-1 win at Nashville and 4-2 at Calgary.
“I’m not one-bit surprised with him leaving that the team has played better and hasn’t looked back,” Keefe said. “It seems like that’s the case in a lot of situations, especially with really good teams. Something like that happens and it gets everybody’s attention, and the team pulls together and shows what they’re capable of. I have a lot of respect for this group, with McDavid or not, there’s a lot of threats. They play a good team game. We’re going to have to be at our best.”
Like Leon Draisaitl, who continues a torrid start to the season. He nine goals and 16 points to open the year.
“When McDavid got injured the team still played really well,” forward Jesper Bratt said. “They play a good system. They play fast. They’re good breaking out the puck. They have a good transition game. They have a lot of guys that are big offensive threats. Even if he’s out they’ve played really well lately and we’re up to a tough challenge.”
Stay the Course
Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton has only one goal on the current campaign. Despite that, he is second on the team in shots with 45, one behind Jack Hughes’ 46.
“I just want him to be a little more confident and be willing to shoot, that’s how he scores,” Keefe said. “He rips pucks to the net and has that mindset. I think he’s been more reluctant to do that, whether it’s deferring to others or feeling confident with it.
“He is a big threat back there and we want to make sure that continues to be the case.”
