PRE-GAME STORY
NEWARK, N.J. - When the Devils take on the Florida Panthers at Prudential Center, there will be a new person in charge as interim head coach Travis Green coaches his first game at the helm.
“This is not the way I envisioned being a head coach again in the NHL,” Green shared. “Moving forward it is my job now to help this team move forward, help them progress, and that started this morning."
"We have a game to play tonight, and got to go back to business," Captain Nico Hischier said."It's obviously not easy after the day it was but at the end of the day the players have a job to do and we have to go out there and try to win a hockey game tonight."
Morning Skate Updates
Forward Ondrej Palat missed the Devils morning skate and interim head coach Travis Green shared Palat is out (lower-body) and will not play against the Panthers. Green said there’s hope that he’ll be back Wednesday.
General Manager Tom Fitzgerald shared in his press conference ahead of the team’s morning skate that there were going to be lineup changes in the Devils game against the Panthers. The Devils workflow on Tuesday was as follows:
Meier - Hischier - Toffoli
Hughes - Haula - Bratt
Tierney - Lazar - Mercer
MacDermid - Nosek - Holtz
Siegenthaler - Marino
Bahl - Smith
Hughes - Miller
Nemec - DeSimone
Akira Schmid was in the starters net and Green confirmed he will start.
When it came to special teams, these are the units the Devils practiced with:
PP1: Toffoli, Bratt, Hischier, Hughes, Hughes
PP2: Miller, Haula, Meier, Mercer, Holtz
Nemec and DeSimone were the extra pair and Green confirmed Nemec will sit tonight. Green shared they had a good conversation about what the rookie defenseman needs to improve and how he balances confidence and accountability.
“I think he’s going to have a great long career, and going to be a great player in the league,” Green shared. “I really like him as a player. When he first came up I was just watching and I was really happy with how he played. But also in saying that I talked to him this morning and I said I think your game has dipped in the last three weeks.
“We talked about why (he’s being scratched) and I’ve worked with a lot of young players in the league and I think it’s really important to be honest with them and make sure that you keep their confidence,” Green continued. “Because I don’t want to take confidence away from players and I think especially young players, it’s important that they keep their confidence. I told him he’s going to get back in. We talked about some things I want him to see, we want to see and a lot of it has to do with his skating. His skating doesn’t have that pop that he had when he first came up. The season is a grind, the NHL is a grind. You see a lot of young defensemen sometimes not play every night and there’s nothing wrong with that. And it’s up to us to make sure that we move him along and his play raises as he plays more and grows as a player. When I left the room today I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a terrible thing he wasn’t playing tonight and make sure that his confidence remained."
Playoff Push
With only 21 games left in the season, the Devils need to string together wins in a playoff push. Players, Green, and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald all discussed how New Jersey can play its best hockey and pick up points.
“Today’s a new day and just go out there and compete, battle hard,” Timo Meier said. “This time of year, it’s going to come down to who wins more puck battles, who’s got more effort, first, second, third effort, that’s how you’re going to win games.”
"It's going to be a hard, honest conversation every single day to be better," Jesper Bratt shared pre-game. "It's about noticing the good things that happen in the game and not being afraid of saying what needs to get better. We all put pressure on ourselves and we have to put pressure on each other to get better."
"Showing will out there, showing energy, just trying to do whatever we can to win some hockey games here," Hischier said on the focus and message for tonight. "I think it's really important for us. It's a new start now and I think also with what happened, (we're) responsible, us players a bit too ... we're all in this together as well, we start a new chapter now and try to work as hard as we can."
"A lot of it comes down to the players, and our effort and how we come out," Jack Hughes explained. "And sometimes we get outbattled and outplayed ... the runway's not that long so we got to really be desparate and if we lose a couple more games we're out of the running. So we are playing with our lives right now."
New Relationship
With Green's new role as interim head coach, things will be different; however, Green is still the same person with the same mission to help the players be the best they can be.
“Your relationship is always a little different as an assistant coach, as a head coach, but I’m still the same person,” Green explained. “I did tell (the team) that it will be a little different … I tried to let them know the kind of coach I am in a shorter amount of time. I used the words like trust, communication, honesty. Those are all important parts of coaching … my job is to help the players become better hockey players and play their best hockey. Ultimately, that’s what a coach’s job is and to win.”
Meier discussed the expectations Green brings as interim head coach and how the entire group needs to come together and bring their best effort.
“He’s very detailed oriented, wants to play fast,” Meier shared. “Having him here as an assistant coach, you get to know him. He’s a good guy. He’s obviously going to try to bring the best out of every body and it’s on us individually to really step up, everybody. It takes every body to take another step and really put it on the ice. There’s been a lot of talking and we have to act quick.”
