Final Preseason Tilt Tonight Against SC Bern

This is it. The exhibition season comes to a close for the New Jersey Devils on Monday. As part of the NHL's Global Series Tour, it's game day in Bern, Switzerland as the Devils prepare for their final regular season tune-up game against SC Bern.

While the Devils may not be playing against an NHL opposition, the task always remains the same. This is an opportunity to fine-tune not only the lineup, but the structure and tactics that have been worked on through training camp.
"No matter who we're playing or what country we're playing in, it's about our compete-level," Taylor Hall said. "It's about winning our one-on-one battles. We have our system and structure in place, but for the most part our team is dictated on speed and pace of play."

There will be some unusual adjustments, as the game against SC Bern will be played at PostFinance Arena where the ice is an international sized rink. This will make things a little tricky for NHLers who are used to playing on the smaller ice surface.
For starters, the offensively-gifted Hall, finds it more difficult to create those chances on net.
"I find it a lot harder to create offense," Hall said. "The puck is always so far from the net. It's really important to get to the inside and find ways to get chances in the middle of the ice. In all the international competitions that I've played, I've found that's the best way to go about things. On the defensive side of the puck, it's keeping players to the outside and maintaining that strong middle-ice play."
Head coach John Hynes, who has coached internationally on the larger ice surface, agrees.

"You have to understand that you don't have to change your style," coach Hynes said. "It's just making sure the ice outside the dots - particularly offensively - you don't want to get sucked into a passing game or a perimeter game. We talked to our guys about making sure we get to the middle of the ice, fight for middle ice and get in and attack the team offensively."
Another area of the game that will be different is the number of players dressed. Coach John Hynes has the luxury against SC Bern to dress 20 skaters and two goaltenders, which provides an opportunity to give more players a chance in the final preseason matchup.
"It's fantastic," Hynes said. "You get an opportunity in training camp to dress more players than you normally would. We're going to dress 13 [forwards] and seven [defensemen] and give Steven Santini an opportunity to get back in and see what he can do. We're really happy we can [dress more players] and give guys an opportunity to play and it gives us another opportunity to take a look."

One of those players will be Jean-Sebastien Dea, who will get his first opportunity with the Devils organization. Dea will play on a line with Miles Wood and Travis Zajac.
"We want him to play to his strengths," Hynes said. "He's a strong, quick and tenacious player. That's what we'd like to see. He does have strong puck skills and an offensive element to his game. We want to see how he matriculates into the way we want to play."

Keith Kinkaid will get the start in net against SC Bern. The Devils will face off against SC Bern at 7:30 p.m. local time, 1:30 p.m. EST.