The New Jersey Devils held practice at the RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House inside Prudential Center following their four-game West Coast trip. Forwards Cody Glass, Connor Brown and Zack MacEwen joined the group on the ice as they recover from injuries. Coach Sheldon Keefe provided updates on their potential returns ahead of Thursday's game against the Montreal Canadiens.
The New Jersey Devils returned to practice on Wednesday after wrapping up a four-game West Coast road trip. The session took place at the RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House within the Prudential Center, focusing on recovery and preparation for their upcoming home game.
Three injured forwards participated: Cody Glass with an upper-body injury, and Connor Brown and Zack MacEwen with undisclosed issues. Brown, considered day-to-day, skated on his own Tuesday and practiced in his usual spot Wednesday. He could return Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens. "We’ll see. We just want to make sure he gets through practice and is feeling good," head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We’ll make a decision with the medical team tomorrow."
Glass and MacEwen, also inching toward returns, joined the full group for the first time but skated as extras without lines. "It’s nice to see them. They both had a great skate today," Keefe noted. "That bodes well for their return in the near future. I wouldn’t expect either guy tomorrow but they have another practice on Friday. We’ll see where they’re at from there. Both felt good today. That’s very encouraging."
Lineup adjustments included Dawson Mercer at third-line center, Juho Lammikko at fourth-line center, and Luke Glendening moving to the wing. Defensive pairings remained unchanged.
With Glass out, captain Nico Hischier has shouldered more defensive responsibility, facing top opponents without relief. "Obviously, it’s exhausting," Hischier said with a smile. "But overall, playing hockey games is exhausting. But I enjoy it. It’s part of my role here. I take pride in it, especially at home. I’m trying to take care of these guys. It’s not always easy. I try to take it very seriously. I try to do my job to help the team win. If I’m able to shut these guys down a bit then I’m contributing something to the team. That’s what I’m looking for."
Mercer is off to his best NHL start with 14 points, including eight goals, through 13 games. He tallied five goals and six points in the last four contests and made history as the first player to score two power-play goals at San Jose and two shorthanded goals at Los Angeles in consecutive games. "I didn’t know that," Mercer laughed of his record. "Good news I guess." On switching between center and wing: "There’s definitely a big difference between (wing and center)," he said. "But for me, I’m used to playing both of them. Whichever position I’m in during the night I’ll give it my best."
Keefe addressed defensive lapses in the recent 4-1 loss to Anaheim: "A lot of really bad hockey. The adjustments are to play good hockey. That would be helpful. It was not really structure based. It was habits, work ethic, awareness, that kind of stuff. Those things go out the window as you get a little more fatigued, but it went too far the other way. We’ve got to get that rectified real quick."
Hischier highlighted the team's 5-0 home record: "We’re playing good hockey. Last year, for a number of games we weren’t playing good hockey. That’s how you lose games. Here, we get the crowd going and have them on our side. That’s what we’ve been doing here."