MacDermid Returns to Practice as Devils Prepare for Back-to-Back | NOTEBOOK

The Devils could have both Jonas Siegenthaler and Kurtis MacDermid back in the lineup this week. Both players were on the ice today for practice and were full participants. Check out the Devils Notebook below to see what interim head coach Travis Green had to say about their upcoming availability!

Full Attendance

It was a full house for the Devils at practice today with the arrival of Kurtis MacDermid back on the ice with his teammates, while Jack Hughes, who has taken maintenance days the past few practices, was also on the ice. Jonas Siegenthaler also partook in his second straight practice. Both Siegenthaler and MacDermid, who are both returning from injury, were in regular practice jerseys.

MacDermid was skating in a regular practice jersey and took secondary fourth-line reps. On certain occasions MacDermid would switch spots with either Max Willman or Chris Tierney. When MacDermid jumped into drills for Tierney, Curtis Lazar would move to the center position making the line MacDermid-Lazar-Willman. MacDermid also took some practice reps on the penalty kill, as did Siegenthaler.

“A few days away, just get everything organized and settled down," MacDermid said after practice, "Being able to join the guys on the ice today was great.”

Interim head coach Travis Green says he does expect both to be able to return to the lineup at some point this upcoming week. The Devils start a back-to-back on Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins and then visit the Rangers on Wednesday night. The team then heads to Ottawa for a Saturday night game, followed by hosting the Nashville Predators

The Details

Being intentional with every practice, every drill and every bit of communication has been a big focus for Travis Green and it's evident in his practice sessions. They're on the shorter side, but they're little time in between drills.

“First of all, it’s a high-tempo practice that we need," Ondrej Palat said, "You guys could see, we work on a lot of breakouts, faceoff plays. Little details like that are going to win or lose games.”

Every bit of practice has a specific detail outlined by the coaching staff and today along with breakouts, faceoffs were a key component.

“Faceoff has been a bit of an emphasis as well,” Haula said, “We had a bit of a hiccups there in Buffalo that we looked at and so, just looking to get better out there. (Green’s) practice are fast, getting our legs moving is a big thing. Our skating is a big part of our game, so that’s definitely one that we focus on.”

“There are subtle little picks that you might run on a faceoff,” Green explained, “Certain body positioning, based on where the other team is. I’m talking about the nuetral and D-Zone faceoffs, but every zone has it’s nuances within it that you’re looking to get an advantage.”

Limited Time

With just eight games left in the regular season and just over two weeks left to play those games. With eight games in 15 days, practice time will be few and far between given the schedule. That puts an emphasis into the time that the coaching staff in showing video clips and hosting video sessions.

“I think its important, for a couple of reasons," Green shared, "We’ve got a young group, and I think there are lots of valuable teaching moments in every game. And obviously being a new coach with them, installing or talking to them, teaching things that I see in the game and what we want to do as a group. So we’ve really been concentrating on, I don’t want to say training camp, but a lot of game reviews with our team in going over different areas of our game, showing video is a great resource and then moving that video onto the ice and doing it in practice.”