NEWARK, NJ - After a (long) travel day Monday, the Devils were back on the ice for morning skate Tuesday ahead of playing the Ducks.
All three goaltenders - Mackenzie Blackwood, Jonathan Bernier, Scott Wedgewood - joined the team for the trip. Bernier, who returned to the crease Saturday from a lower-body injury, did not take part in the morning skate while the other two did.
"Some goalies have routines, and we allow them to keep their routine," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "Bernier is not a big game day skater. So, with three goalies it was an easy decision to allow him to take the morning off."
Ruff indicated that Blackwood, who still hasn't played this season due to a heel injury, could play tonight if the team needed him to, though he did not indicate which goalie would start and which would backup.
New Day
Defenseman Ty Smith is putting his game Sunday night against Columbus behind him. After a few tough shifts in the first period, Smith sat for much of the second period. He got back into the rotation in the third period, but committed a turnover that led to the Blue Jackets' tying goal before an eventual shootout loss.
"I re-watched (the game) when I got home," he said. "I saw the good things. I saw things that weren't as good. I took note of that.
"Next day when you get up, it's a new day. There's 82 games in a season. I don't know many players that will play their best in all 82. It's a new day, a new game. I just have to simplify things and compete."
Smith, 21, has only played in four games this season, his first four in six months. An injury shutdown his rookie season in 2020-21 prematurely on May 3. A subsequent injury forced him to miss the majority of training camp, the entire preseason and the first three games of the regular season.
But Smith wouldn't use the long lapse in game action as the reason for his play.
"There's no excuse. That was my fourth game," he said. "You never want to miss camp and preseason. But I'm four games in now so I have to play like everyone else and be at the top of mine."
Part of being a professional athlete is navigating the rollercoaster of an 82-game season.
"You know there are going to be downs more than once throughout a season, so you have to be able to respond," he said.
Monkey Off Your Back
Devils forward Tomas Tatar is a proven goal scorer in the NHL, registering seasons of 29, 21, 25 (twice) and 22. But through seven games with New Jersey he's still stuck at zero.
"I would probably say it's always the hardest to get the first one, especially with a new team," Tatar said. "I feel like I'm getting chances to score. I just wasn't fortunate enough to put it in.
"Hopefully I get one soon."
Tatar, who has three assists on the year, started the season on a line with Dawson Mercer and Andreas Johnsson. But three games ago he was moved to a unit featuring Nico Hischier and Pavel Zacha.
"It's a fairly new line but I feel like we're getting more comfortable with each other each game," Tatar said. "We know where each other are, we know how to help each other. It starts in the D zone. We break the puck from there and all three of us are creative enough to make scoring chances in the O zone."
The trio produced a goal (Dougie Hamilton) in a 4-2 victory against Pittsburgh on Saturday.
"If you look at the last game, they were in on a number of good opportunities, but they need to finish," Ruff said. "Nico made a real good play to Dougie on one of the goals. If you can get in on one goal a game, then you're having a pretty good night."
Jetlag
The Devils are back on the ice following a long flight the previous day. On Monday, the team took a seven-hour flight (due to a stop to refuel) across the country to the coast.
"You feel a little stiff," Tatar admitted. "We needed this morning skate to feel good before tonight's game. This is an important trip. It would be nice to start off good."
Typically, when teams travel to the opposite coast they do so on a Monday, have practice Tuesday to adjust to the time zone and then play Wednesday. However, the Devils don't have that luxury of a practice as they're scheduled to play Tuesday evening.
"You prefer to have an extra day, but we don't have it," Ruff said. "It'll be a quick turnaround. It's getting into the game early. Simplicity. We don't need to put too much risk into our game early on. Let's get into the game and see where we go from there."
