PRE-GAME STORY
Vitek Vanecek will be available tonight for the New Jersey Devils, a game after he was held off the roster by the team dealing with an ailment. Vanecek was the first player on the ice this morning and held the starting net during morning skate, with Lindy Ruff saying both his goaltenders are available to play tonight.
The Devils welcome in the Philadelphia Flyers in a game where there are important standings implications, just four points separate the two teams, with the Flyers edging New Jersey.
"We have a ton of games left, but games like these are so important, so valuable," Nathan Bastian said.
But what might be even more valuable Bastian suggested, was the type of hockey that Philly brings to the table.
"Honestly, I think a game like Philly is a good matchup for us tonight," he continued, "I think we need a bit of a wakeup call after the last game and they’ll give it to us."
The Devils will have the toughness and hardness of the Flyers to contend with tonight, something Philadelphia swung upon them in their last game.
"I think if you saw last game, we got a little chippier and they were kind of a bit harder on our top guys, so it’s up to a guy like me to stand in there."
Mr. 400
From one milestone to another for captain Nico Hischier tonight. Over the weekend Hischier hit the 300-point mark and tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers he will play in his 400th NHL game. Hischier made his NHL debut on Oct. 7, 2017, at home versus the Colorado Avalanche, recorded his first point on Oct. 9, 2017, an assist, in Buffalo and on Oct. 19, 2027 in Ottawa, Hischier scored the first two goals of his NHL career.
So much has happened since then, from a teenager to a 24-year-old and captaining his NHL franchise. He has been a model of a player and captain since Day 1.
"I think you’ve seen the record since he’s come back, he’s that glue, that two-way player that we can play in any situation," head coach Lindy Ruff said today, "He's well respected by his teammates, he’s a great captain that is just early in his captain career."
"It’s hard to just put a couple of words to what Nico brings to this team," veteran Brendan Smith shared, "He’s such an instrumental part of this, of us winning. You can see when he was out, it was tough to find wins and when he came back we were able to kind of rally. There’s a lot that he does. He’s a real show-by-example kind of player out there and he plays a 200-ft game, all areas (…) what doesn’t he do? He tends to say the right things at the right times. It’s hard to just put into a couple of words what he means to this organization."
Developing Defensemen
There are plenty of young defensemen to go around on the Devils blueline this season and it's a lesson in learning to appreciate the good and live with the mistakes. Since Simon Nemec has entered the Devils lineup, he has fit in seamlessly, but that doesn't mean there won't be difficult times.
Against the Anaheim Ducks, Nemec had one of his more difficult games, finishing the night minus-3 while still playing some major minutes ending the night with 23:00 time on ice. It's one of those learn-from-it games and time to move on, as Nemec remains in the Devils lineup tonight with his regular defensive partner Jonas Siegenthaler.
"We understand that there are ups and downs with young defensemen," Ruff said, "You love the good, you have to learn from the mistakes and we continue to learn. We know there are going to be mistakes, it takes a while. You can’t predict when the mistakes are going to come, he’s played a lot of really good games. That’s what you focus in on, you focus in on the fact that he’s been able to put the game together, for a young defenseman, some really good games and help us win hockey games.”
- Amanda Stein, Team Reporter
