Devils Hold Practice in Seattle | NOTEBOOK

SEATTLE, WA - The Devils practiced at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle in preparation for tomorrow's game against the Kraken. The game wraps up a five-game road trip in which the Devils have won the first four games.

Practice Details:

The Devils used the following workflow at practice:
Palat - Hischier - Bratt
Haula - Hughes - Mercer
Boqvist - Sharangovich - Tatar
Bastian - McLeod - Wood
Zetterlund - Foote - Holtz
Siegenthaler - Hamilton
Graves - Severson
Okhotiuk - Smith
Bahl - Marino

Bastian Close

The biggest revelation from the updated lines up front was Nate Bastian skating on a line with Michael McLeod and Miles Wood. Bastian, who was reacquired by the Devils from Seattle last season, hasn't played since suffering an injury on November 26.
Devils head coach Lindy Ruff was optimistic that Bastian could be available on Thursday when the Devils face-off against Seattle.
"It's a possibility for sure," said Ruff. "He's worked hard to get back to this point and we tried to give him a look today to see how he felt."

A Rare Practice

It's been a month without many practices for the Devils. Today's practice in Seattle was the team's first since Thursday last week in Anaheim. Tuesday was a day off for the club coming off three games in four days. Coach Ruff talked about trying to find time to get the full team on ice for practice and balancing that with what is often much-needed rest.
"One day is always dictated by a union day off," Ruff began. "When we play back-to-back a lot of times the next day will be a day off. Sometimes it depends how late the night gets if we're traveling. When the ice time is the next day, the minutes some players play will dictate whether we make it optional for those guys. There's a lot of factors. If guys weren't feeling that well you have to get them some time off, too."

The Emergence of Graves

Ryan Graves has been outstanding since he returned from injury. After being hurt early in the game on December 21 in Florida, he returned to action on January 1 at home against Carolina and has had strong month. In eight games, he has seven points (two goals, five assists) and a +13 rating. He is also on a five-game point scoring streak and two-game goal scoring streak.

"It's kind of the way things roll sometimes. Last game's a broken play that their goalie kind of gets bumped and it's an open net for me and the other one literally bounces in. You just try to put yourself in good spots," said Graves.
"You work game in game out to try and put yourself in good spots. When the play's happening you want to put yourself in a dangerous spot where the team can use you."
With a +31 rating, Graves is tied for the best in the NHL in plus/minus.
"I had this a few years ago, it was a crazy year. It's something that night in and night out I want to be a plus player. You're trying to give your team the best chance to win. A big part of that is a team stat."

Teammate Damon Severson added that he's been impressed with the play of his D partner.
"He's playing well, he's skating and moving pucks. He's a solid player and gets relied on defensively a lot. It's impressive and always great to see."

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