Devils Prepare for Swing through California | NOTEBOOK

The Devils practiced on Monday at Honda Center in Anaheim as they prepare for a three-game swing through California.

Check out the Devils Notebook for the latest info, updates, interviews, videos and more from the practice session!

The Quick Details

Based on the practice lines, it appears Kurtis MacDermid will be entering the lineup in Anaheim on Tuesday in place of Tomas Tatar.

MacDermid, who is 6-foot-5 and 233 pounds, is a big, heavy body, adding more size to the forward group against a team like the Ducks that boast hard-hitting players like Radko Gudas and former Ranger Jacob Trouba, whom the Devils are very familiar with.

The official lineup will not be confirmed until warmups on Tuesday; with a 5 p.m. local start (8 p.m. on the East Coast), the Devils will not hold a morning skate.

Good, Better, Best

With the halfway mark of the season just two games away, there's plenty to be able to reflect on. With a new coach to start the year, many new faces in the locker room, everything has been about adjusting and getting better each day. New Jersey continues to grow their game under head coach Sheldon Keefe and are a group that are hungry for more and never satisfied. It's what drives them each day.

Hitting the halfway mark of a season can also be a bit of a grind, there's a lot of hockey behind you and a ton of hockey in front of you. But for these athletes, they use what can be potentially a grind, into a feeling of motivation.

“I think just the hunger to get better every day,” Timo Meier said. “That’s our motivation. We try to get better every day. What we’ve done so far, we can be happy but not satisfied, but we’ve got a long way to go. Almost half of the season. We’ve made some strides in the right direction but we also know there is much more possible. That keeps us very motivated that we keep moving forward.”

For Nico Hischier one of the most significant string of games for the club this season were the two games in Florida in mid-November, where things really started to click as a full team in taking the biggest steps toward being the team they want to ultimately be.

"I think when we won those two games in Florida," Hischier said. "Those were some games we kind of felt, that’s the way we can play. Especially against good teams. That gave us confidence and it just comes from consistent practicing and repeating stuff we want to do.

Meier Addresses Hit

After being handed a five-minute major and a game misconduct against the Carolina Hurricanes over the weekend for his hit on forward Martin Necas, Meier addressed the hit after practice today.

"Obviously the ref makes the call and it is what it is, you’ve got to accept it," Meier said. "As a player even if you’re not happy with it, I didn’t really say anything and move on.”

Meier also described how he saw the play unfold.

“I tried to hit him and led with my shoulder," he added. "(Necas) kind of tried to get out of the way and maybe it looked a little awkward but I thought it was a clean hit, but the referee made the decision.”