Devils Practice Before Final Game Ahead of Break | NOTEBOOK

The Devils are practicing Friday afternoon at the RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House inside Prudential Center before flying to Montreal.

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

Practice Info

The Devils had all expected players at practice. Captain Nico Hischier did not practice, but has resumed skating on his own.

D Pairings

Keefe gave some insight into why he has chosen to use the current defensive pairings with Jonas Siegenthaler out of the lineup with an undisclosed injury .

“(Brett) Pesce to me is our best candidate to play on his off-side, even if it’s not ideal. It’s how to best utilize him there. Siegenthaler and (Johnathan) Kovacevic have been so reliable for us. We’ve leaned on them so heavily. We feel Pesce is similar in that sense so we’re feeling it out from there. (Brenden) Dillon and (Dougie) Hamilton have familiarity. So, that’s what we got.”

Cole Dishes

NJD.tv's Amanda Stein sat down with Montreal's Cole Caufield, who is best friends with Jack and Luke Hughes. He gave her some of the dirt on the brothers.

They are very competitive, as I'm sure you are as well, so what brings out the most competitive spirit? Is it pool? Is it something like water skiing? What is it that brings out that summer competitive spirit where things get the most heated?

The pool table's gotten the most use I've ever seen. The chalkboard with so many names, how many wins they have. Either that or ping-pong. Otherwise we're on the boat. We've got a good group of guys over there, and everybody just likes hanging out with each other.

So what's Luke like away from the arena? He's got such a competitive drive too, and I've heard that he's the best at the pool table.

He's tough to beat. I think everybody is chasing him. I think he's even got his own pool stick. I don't want to confirm that, but I want to say everybody is chasing him down. And if you don't know that, he'll probably tell you, no questions asked. But he's also a guy I think that never stops eating. It's kind of crazy, he's going to fill himself out pretty well.

As friends, what do you enjoy most about competing against them?

Honestly, they're just really special at what they do. They love what they do. It's pretty cool to be able to get to train with them and compete against the best. And that's kind of what you want. To be around them, to golf with them, it's definitely good to just stay competitive in the off-season but also have guys that you can lean on and talk to throughout the year.

Full story here.

Killing It

The Devils are trying to find their game as of late. But one area that has been solid has been the work of the PK unit. New Jersey went 4-for-4 Thursday night against Vegas, which boasts the NHL’s No. 1 road power play. The Devils have killed 16 straight overall.

“We know the way we want to kill. The importance of it. It changes the game if they score or don’t. It gives us momentum,” Mercer said. “It’s something we take a lot of pride in and that’s great to hear that stat (of 16 straight).”

The Devils PK hasn’t missed a beat despite losing two important PKers in captain Nico Hischier and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler.

“(They are) huge parts of our penalty kill, both of those guys,” defensemen Brenden Dillon said. “You understand in our sport that guys are going to go down.

“We’re doing a great job right now. We’re getting our clears, we’re blocking shots, we’re making sure our attention to detail is where it needs to be.”

They Said It:

Dillon on breaking out of the team's current slump: "That’s the magic sauce. We’re in one right now. We’re grinding. Each line, each D pair, we just have to get back to what makes us successful individually. On a hockey team you have so many different skillsets. You have to play to the best of your ability in whatever specific role you have. Then we’re going to get out of this.”

4 Nations: Jesper v. Jack

After the Devils play Montreal Saturday afternoon, the NHL will pause for two weeks for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. It will feature Devils linemates Jesper Bratt (Sweden) and Jack Hughes (USA) going head-to-head.