Devils Practice Monday Afternoon | NOTEBOOK

The Devils practiced Monday afternoon at the RWJBarnabas Heath Hockey House in Prudential Center.

Monday morning, the Devils announced their third Devils Ring of Honor member, Jacques Lemaire. Lemaire is the franchise's winningest head coach and the bench boss for the 1995 Stanley Cup Championship team. He will be inducted into the Devils Ring of Honor presented by Citizens during a pregame ceremony on Jan. 22, 2025. Learn more about Lemaire's Lasting Legacy in today's Devils Now presented by RWJBarnabas Health.

Monday's Practice

The Devils were back to work with practice as they continue their five-game homestand.

All expected skaters participated in practice; however, Jake Allen was not on the ice for the Devils. Head coach Sheldon Keefe gave an update following the on-ice session:

"He's getting evaluated today. We'll have to see exactly where he's at and he's questionable at this point to backup (Tuesday), but Markstrom will play tomorrow regardless."

Here's how the Devils practiced today:

Kurtis MacDermid and Nick DeSimone served as an extra d-pairing and Légaré would join the duo at times for certain drills.

Switching Things Up

In an effort to generate more from his lines, Keefe switched things up, moving Mercer to the Hischier line and reuniting the Cotter - Haula - Noesen line that found success in November.

"Play our game," Cotter said on bringing back his line. "We've had success in the past all three together. Seems like we've done a pretty good job of staying on the same page, so keep it simple early, have a pretty good start, and we know what we need to do against (Toronto Tuesday) to have success, so just play simple."

Cotter, Haula, and Noesen all have similiar games where they can be physical, win faceoffs, and serve as a grinder line. Cotter believes their understanding of each other's game has helped the trio find success this season.

"I think that's why we're so much on the same page," Cotter explained. "We all can do each other's jobs if needed. Noesen's pretty good on the dot if Haula gets kicked out on the right, me on the left. If we come back into the D zone, each one of us can play low depending on who gets down there first. Just reading off of each other, trusting the (other) guy that he's going to do his job and makes it easy on the rest of us."

In addition to the workflow above, Nathan Légaré took reps with the Hischier line to allow Nathan Bastian more time with the Dowling line. That was another step in his progression as Bastian is working his way back from injury.

"He's close," Keefe said on Bastian. "He's been skating a lot. Today's the first time that we included him on a line just to get more consistent reps. We'll just have to see where he's at. He's starting to approach the day-to-day part here ... just have to wait for the doctor's OK."

Practice Details

Monday was a productive 30 minute session that focused on different areas like battles and working below the red line.

"I thought they responded well," Keefe said. "I would have preferred that we brought this level of intensity last night (against Colorado) but we did not. We spoke about that today and the guys responded well. That's one thing about our team, when they've slipped up and they get called on it, the respond well the next day."

“Sheldon made sure the practice today was hard, was crisp,” veteran Ondrej Palat explained. “We battled, we improved some things. I’m confident that we will come out strong and have a game tomorrow.”

For Cotter, the practice reinforced how the team needs to play to open up the game for their skilled play.

“We have a lot of skilled players on this team,” Cotter shared. “So sometimes resorting to skill is easy, it’s more fun for sure. But I think we just have to remember, we saw it out (at practice), during these battle drills each one of us is tough to play against. You never want to have to go against (Brenden) Dillon in the corner, or some of these defensemen. Just remembering we have that in us, bringing that tenacity to start, and then once we do that, then things will open up for our skill.”

They Said It

Keefe on the Devils wall play and board battles:

“We’ve been inconsistent. When we’ve played at our best, we’ve very good in that area. We practice it almost every day and have prioritized it since the beginning of training camp as an area to be really good in. I think we’ve improved but we have a ways to go in all zones, in our zone, in the offensive zone. Trying to win those battles and get off the walls to play in the more important ice in the middle.”

Palat discussing his role on a line with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt:

“It’s been a tough season for me point wise, but I’m just trying to do those little things too - be in the right spot, win a battle, and most importantly to give them the puck. When you play with Bratt and Jack, they need the puck in their hands so I’m trying to do that.”

Cotter on what the Devils are taking away from their 4-0 loss to Colorado:

“You get your bounces, sometimes you don’t, but you can’t get shutout. We emphasized that today and looked at some of the things that will help change that. Some of those things include being more simple sometimes. We have the skill to do things, but early, if we play simpler then stuff’s going to open up for our skill.”

Pride Night

The Devils will celebrate Pride Night during their Dec. 10 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. De'von Downes designed this year's Devils Pride Night jersey and he discussed how Pride "feels like community." Read more by clicking here, and see Downes in his studio below!

Tickets are still available here!