MORNING SKATE RECAP
NEWARK, NJ - The Devils held a full morning skate on Friday at Prudential Center ahead of hosting the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the First Round, and it looks like defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler is inching closer and closer to a return to action.
Siegenthaler, out of the lineup since suffering an injury on Feb. 4, participated fully in the session and did rush work with defense partner Simon Nemec. The veteran blueliner practiced with the team for the first time since the injury on Thursday.
“He’s feeling good. We’re optimistic that he’ll be able to play tonight,” head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “We’re going to give him the day and every opportunity to feel as comfortable as possible. He’s had the appropriate appointments. His leg, the bone is healed. That’s not a concern at all. He’s fully healthy that way. What he needed more time for was the conditioning side of it. We’re not able to provide him that time given our circumstances here. We intend to play him today but in a reduced role, reduced minutes.”
Rest of the Lineup
Keefe confirmed that Brenden Dillon and Luke Hughes will both miss Game 3.
Defenseman Brett Pesce was given the morning off but will play tonight in Game 3.
"(Pesce) is a competitor. He really wants to win," Keefe said. "He's not at 100 percent. And that's not because of anything that happened in Game 2, it happened in Game 1. Yet you saw the way that he played in Game 2. He was able to push through it. Those are the kind of efforts and determination that you need at this time of year. He's leading the way in the regard and we'll need more of that."
The Devils used the following workflow…
Palat – Hischier – Meier
Haula – Mercer – Bratt
Cotter – Glass – Noesen
Tatar – Dowling – Bastian
Cholowski – Hamilton
Dumoulin – Kovacevic
Siegenthaler – Nemec
MacDermid – Casey
Markstrom expected to start. Cholowski acted as a placeholder for Pesce. The forward groupings are the same from Game 2.
Home Cooking
The Devils return home for Games 3 and 4. In the regular season, New Jersey won both matchups against Carolina at the Prudential Center and are looking for more of the same.
“Coming back into our building, we know it’s going to be loud,” forward Timo Meier said. “We’re down 2-0 in the series but if you look at the season, you face adversities, we’ve dealt with this all year. Now we want to put on a good start in our building tonight, starting with the first shift. That’s what we’re focused on.”
Despite the circumstances, the situation, the pressure, the Devils have an opportunity that 16 other teams don’t. And that’s playoff hockey.
“Take that all away and just enjoy playing on home ice in front of our fans and feeling comfortable there,” forward Erik Haula said. “We feel good about it. We’re just looking for a good win today and it’s a whole new series. That’s our mindset.”
More Goals
The Devils did a much better job in Game 2 of holding onto the puck in the offensive zone and titling some of the play in their favor. However, they still ended up with the same result – scoring just one goal.
“We have to do a better job of putting the puck in the net,” Haula said. “One goal a game isn’t going to cut it, especially on the road. Positive vibes today. Everyone had good jump on the ice. We feel good about coming back to home ice.”
One way to create more chances is by keeping the puck in advantageous areas of the ice.
“Trying to keep it off the yellow. They’re very good when the puck’s on the yellow, pressuring, taking options away and punting it out or getting it out of their zone,” Haula said. “We were able to exploit more the middle of the ice, getting shots from good areas. Trying to do a better job today of that and capitalize on scoring a little bit more.”
