Siegenthaler Practices | NOTEBOOK

The Devils are practicing at the RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House at Prudential Center.

Stay tuned to the notebook for the latest info, updates, interviews, videos and more from the practice session!

Siegenthaler Returns to Practice

Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler, out since Feb. 4 with an undisclosed injury, joined his teammates for his first team practice session since suffering the injury.

Siegenthaler skated the entire 30 minutes of ice time and worked on a defense pairing with Simon Nemec, though it should be noted that there were some key defensive absences so his availability is unknown for Game 3 Friday night at Prudential Center.

"We’ll see where he’s at and continue to talk to him. Time is not exactly our friend right now," head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "I think he’s changed his mindset, as have we in terms of his preparation. We thought he was going to be a May type of timeline. We’re getting more aggressive with that now to push it given the circumstances."

Regardless of his status, the team was happy to have him back.

"It’s great to see him. It’s been a long time since he’s been with the group," Keefe said. "He’s skated by himself, but practice time is very limited this time of year. Last game without a couple of guys you realize depth becomes a factor. Getting a little more aggressive to get him out there with more guys and get him as many reps as we can."

"It’s good to have Siegenthaler back. We all loved it," captain Nico Hischier said. "It’s pretty impressive how much work he put in to be back and in this shape right now. It’s good to see."

Practice Info

Brett Pesce, Brenden Dillon and Luke Hughes were missing from practice. Colton White, recalled this morning with some other AHL players, did work with the group.

Pesce was given a maintenance day per Keefe. There was no immediate update on Dillon or Hughes.

"They're not out there today. They're not at a point where I would say that we're comfortable saying they're playing," Keefe said. "We do have time on our side. We'll reassess tomorrow."

The Devils used the following workflow…

Power Play Set Up

One area that the Devils have struggled with this series so far has been special teams. In Game 1, the Devils surrendered a power-play goal while going 0-for-2. In Game 2, the Devils gave up a shorthanded goal while going 0-for-3 with the man-advantage.

While scoring is obviously the point, the Devils did generate a lot of good looks and momentum with their final power play in Game 2. Something they hope to carry over into Game 3.

However, when dealing with Carolina’s No. 1-ranked NHL penalty kill, the Devils need to do a better job of handling their puck pressure. The Hurricanes like to play aggressive and force the puck holder to make a quick pass.

“Getting through their pressure, getting through their penalty kill (sic) is hard,” forward Stefan Noesen said. “Their No. 1 in the league for a reason. Once you get through that, they don’t stop coming too. You have to be ready to make the next play.”

Once getting through the initial pressure, the Devils need to set up their players in the offensive zone. There are a lot of obstacles to get there.

“Where they’re best is when the power play is not set,” Keefe said. “And if you get it in on the entry, you’ve got to get time, you’ve got to get space, you’ve got to get set. The other part is faceoffs. If you win the faceoff and get control of the puck, you get the upper hand on the power play. We just haven’t been able to do that with much consistency through two games.

“If you start the power play skating 200 feet back to your own end and you have to restart, especially against this kill, it’s a mental challenge more than anything. That’s all part of what we have to contend with.”

And the Devils are looking to adopt a shooting mentality on the man-advantage once they get in the zone.

“It’s never really a pretty thing. A lot of the goals they give up, there aren’t many, but they’re sloppy chances or bouncing pucks,” Noesen said. “You don’t see many clean looks. Whenever you get a chance, you have to bury. I thought our last one was pretty good.”

Raise the Bar

Though they didn’t win Game 2 in Carolina, the Devils played a very strong game. In many ways, the result could have gone either way. There’s good and bad in that. The good is that more efforts like that, and the Devils should find success. The bad is no matter how good you play, sometimes the result won’t go your way.

“You put in a great effort and consistent effort like we did last time, the results will be the results,” Noesen said. “You leave it out there every single day. You do the right plays and do the right things. Sometimes it comes out on your side, sometimes it doesn’t. last game didn’t. it’s just building off that.

“You get a tase of a hint of success. It’s not just sustaining it. We know they’ll come out with the same effort. We know exactly what they’re going to bring, exactly what they’re going to do, we just have to match it. We have to rise above that too.”

If nothing else, the Devils learned that they can match the Hurricanes head-to-head, and even control the game.

“We raised the bar (in Game 2). We played better. We executed better,” Hischier said. “We trusted each other a little bit more. There are a lot of things I liked about our game, but we lost the game. That’s the reality. We’re down 2-0. Coming out here with our fans with our back and we know we can play with them. That’s the confidence we can take out of Game 2 and raise it another level. There’s no limit. We have to keep building and keep getting better.

”We win one game and we have a series.”

He Said It

Hischier on the playoff atmosphere at Prudential Center: "I’ve experience this place in playoffs. It’s a fun environment to play in. I’m excited for the game. We win one game and it’s a series."