NEWARK, NJ - The Devils take on the Rangers tonight in a rematch of Wednesday night's 4-3 Devils victory in NYC. Another game means a different roster for New Jersey.
The lines at morning skate were:
Hall - Hughes - Palmieri
Coleman - Zajac - Simmonds
Studenic - McLeod - Anderson
Gignac - Street - Speers
Sharangovich
Greene - Subban
Groleau - Tennyson
Mermis - Jacobs
Sissons
Blackwood
Senn
HALL IS BACK
The moment the Devils have been waiting for has arrived. Taylor Hall returns to game action after an injury limited his season to 33 games last year.
The star forward is ready to hit the ice, on a line with Jack Hughes and Kyle Palmieri.
"It's exciting," said Hall. "It's been a long time coming and I had a lot of time to think about getting back to playing and you take it in steps. First, it's just getting back to skating and skating well and skating hard and then training camp comes and I was hoping that I'd be in a position to play this soon and I'm thankful that I am."
Hall says there may be a little nervous energy when he steps onto the ice.
"Little bit of nervousness even though it's an exhibition game," he said. "You haven't played in so long that there's going to be a little bit of nervous energy there, but hopefully I can use that to my advantage and come out and work on a few things and just play as well as I can. I'm not expecting a fabulous game by any means but work hard in the right areas and see if I can have a puck as much as possible."
Hall's teammates are excited to have him back.
"It's awesome," said Kyle Palmieri. "I mean, obviously, I sit next to him and it's good to see him getting back into things and he's obviously looked great so far in camp, so get into some game action and I know he's looking forward to it."
WHAT A LINE
Hall-Hughes-Palmieri.
What a combination.
That's the projected top line for the Devils tonight versus the Rangers. And even more impressive is the look of the team's top power-play unit.
Hall, Jack Hughes, Palmieri, Wayne Simmonds and P.K. Subban. If that group stays intact, there is a lot of firepower.
Hall wasn't expecting being able to play with the 2019 first-overall pick, as he thought he'd spend the majority of his time with Nico Hischier as his center. But Hall is excited about playing with Hughes tonight.
"To be on the ice with him for the last few practices and to see his skill level firsthand, wearing a Devils Jersey… It's going to be fun to play with him tonight," said Hall.
-- Chris Wescott, NewJerseyDevils.com
