Devils Last Practice Before Returning to Game Action | NOTEBOOK

The Devils are practicing Friday afternoon at RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House at Prudential Center. It's the final practice before the Devils resume play in the season Saturday night against Dallas.

Stay tuned to the notebook for the latest info, updates, interviews, videos and more from the practice session!

Practice Info

Fresh off their 4 Nations Face-Off appearances, Jesper Bratt and Erik Haula were back on the ice with their Devils teammates for their first practice.

Both Bratt and Haula were given a few extra days after the conclusion of their portion of the tournament on Monday.

Jack Hughes just played in Thursday's 4 Nations Championship Game. While he is expected to play Saturday for the Devils, Keefe noted that he hadn't yet spoken to him.

Injury Updates

Keefe on Hischier: "We have to see exactly where he's out. The plan has been to build him up to where he's playing. It's back-to-back (games) right out of the gate here. I'll have to have a conversation with him and more importantly the medical people just to make sure that they're on the same page and that he's OK. He got through some hard and competitive practices here, which is a very good sign. We'll see where he's at for tomorrow."

Keefe on Markstrom: "He's progressing. He did a full goalie session today. It was the second practice now where he's been out for the early portion as scheduled and left the ice. He has not built up a full workload yet. He's not close to playing at this point. But he is making his way to being a full practice participant, and that will be the next step for him."

4 Nations Lessons

Although Bratt and Haula returned to the Devils without playing in the 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game, both were equally glad to have experienced playing in the tournament and playing for their respective countries.

“It was awesome, such a great experience, playing best-on-best, the national team,” Bratt said. “I talked about how much it means to me personally and for my family to be there and play for my country and play best-on-best. It was a great experience. I’m happy to have shared it with everyone.”

“I thought the tournament was great, a great experience and something I’ll remember,” Haula said. “I was just fortunate to be a part of it and I really enjoyed it.”

Aside from the fun of playing for their country, the Devils that took part in the games also got to experience competing against a collection of the best players in the world. The intensity was unmatched, even by Stanley Cup playoff standards.

“The players coming back will have a little bit of an upper hand,” Haula said. “We just played some high-level hockey with some of the best players in the league. The speed that you had to play at is going to help us coming back. Take some of the lessons from that tournament to be better for the team and hopefully we can bring it to another level.”

While Haula has a lot of playoff experience, players like Bratt and Jack Hughes do not. So being able to play at such a level will benefit them moving forward.

“It was the highest-paced game I’ve ever played. And the hardest games I’ve ever played,” Bratt admitted. “For me and Jack, we experienced three and four games there, we haven’t had the most playoff experience. We’ve played one playoff year, or six in eight for (me). For us to really get to play on that stage and in those games, that was something we learned a lot from. We got to experience it, and we’ll grow even more out of that.”

Bratt’s biggest takeaway from the competition was how tight the games are.

“Time and space were very limited out there and you had to make sure you made the right play all the time,” he said. “You don’t get to transport the puck up through the neutral zone with a lot of time and space. It was quick plays that had to happen and good decisions. That was probably what I take most out of it.”

Consistency is the Game

The Devils return to action Saturday against Dallas. That is followed by a 12-day, five-game road trip. And with 25 games remaining in the regular season, now is the time for the club to start showing its best.

“These 25 games are going to come quick,” Keefe said. “Nobody in the league has an easy schedule given the break that we just had, it’s condensed. They’re all important games. We want to make sure we get to our game.”

“When you get closer to the trade deadline in March you’re either chasing or being chased,” Haula said. “We want to have the mindset of chasing the teams ahead of us and get off to a strong start. The last break we had when we came back, we weren’t happy with that. We’re trying to do a better job this time and find our consistency and really take the next step as a team.”

The Devils’ ultimate goal is to find more consistency in their game after the previous two months of up and down play.

“It’s finding the consistency in our game and finding the culture in our game,” Bratt said. “The team that goes in the hottest in the playoff and has the best feeling going into the playoff is really hard to beat. For us, we have 25 games on a season that started really well and has been up and down since Christmas. For us it’s dialing it in together, coming together as a group and creating that consistency to our game that we know we can bring to the table every night.”

And what can the Devils bring to the table every night?

“That we’re connected. We’re skating well. We’re executing with the puck and getting out of our zone and moving through the neutral zone well,” Keefe said. “Defensively, playing with structure, playing with intelligence, we’re not beating ourselves and giving up high-end chances. that we’re committed defensively. Those are all the things I expect from our guys right away. That’s what we’ve been talking about since we got back together. We have a chance to put it into action tomorrow night.”

And the road to consistency starts with a single step, starting Saturday against Dallas.

“The first period of tomorrow’s game. You can’t build consistency without getting on a roll a little bit,” Haula said. “Every team is coming off a break. Everyone is standing in the same position. Whoever is ready to go tomorrow is probably going to win the game. It’ll be a great challenge for us and we’re looking forward to it.”

He Said It:

Bratt on the 4 Nations Final: "Really good hockey game, really entertaining. Obviously I wanted to be there so it hurt a little bit watching it. One goal for us against Canada in overtime or Finland and maybe we would have had a chance to be in that game. It was tough watching it, but obviously an entertaining game."

He Said It 2:

Keefe on watching all the clips of his players' during the 4 Nations games: "I want to see where they’re at, see how they handle it. But also, be prepared if they have any questions or any feedback, that I’m up to speed for them. I’m watching and learning how the best players in the world are competing against one another. There was so much talent on the ice and on the bench, there was lots to learn for someone in my position."