The Matchups:
- The New Jersey Devils versus the Washington Capitals (@ The Prudential Center in Newark, NJ)
- The New Jersey Devils at the Ottawa Senators (@ Centre Videotron in Quebec City, QC)
The Time: 3:00 PM ET
The Broadcasts: TV — NHL Network and NJD.tv (vs. Capitals), NJD.tv (@ Senators). Radio — Devils Hockey Network
Two Teams With Chances to Shine
The New Jersey Devils are splitting their team up into two groups today. One Devils team will stay home to play the Washington Capitals, while the other goes up to Quebec City to play the Senators. As Amanda Stein reported, Sheldon Keefe will go to Quebec to coach the away team, while Jeremy Colliton will be head coach for a day in Newark. Keefe noted that the practice groups that the Devils ran yesterday will not entirely stay together, but the individual lines will not be broken up. So, which lines will stay at home, and which lines will go on the road?
Practice Group 1 — Close to NHL Lines
Practice Group 1 yesterday was made up of most of the Devils’ best players. With just Jackson van de Leest practicing in Luke Hughes’s spot, and the Siegenthaler-Hamilton pairing taking a backseat just after they had both played against the Islanders (Seamus Casey took a full maintenance day), it looked almost like an NHL lineup. Notably, Arseny Gritsyuk swapped with Evgenii Dadonov, giving Gritsyuk a chance with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt this afternoon. Additionally, Dawson Mercer is getting a game at center, despite Sheldon Keefe noting many times that they envision Mercer at wing to start the year. With Mercer off the Hischier line, Timo Meier moved to right wing, while Ondrej Palat went from the fourth line to Hischier’s left, making room for Nathan Legare to join the fourth line.
I would imagine that one or both of the top six lines here stay in Newark today. Assuming Ottawa will be playing their stronger lines than Washington, going to Quebec City could be good for Dawson Mercer, who would be able to take first-line center duties on the road if both Hischier and Hughes stay home. Regardless of which of the first three lines goes to Quebec City, I mostly expect Cody Glass to be part of the away team. Defensively, I think the defenseman most in need of playing time here is Simon Nemec, so wherever he goes, he should be playing on the first pairing.
Practice Group 2 — Battles and Long-Shots
The second practice group is made up more of players who are not guaranteed a spot on the roster a week from today. Five Devils from this group will make their preseason debuts: Shane LaChance, Matyas Melovsky, Lenni Hameenaho, Cam Squires, and Xavier Parent. From this group, the great fourth-line center battle should really start moving, with all of Melovsky, Luke Glendening, Kevin Rooney, and Juho Lammikko centering lines, while Angus Crookshank, Thomas Bordeleau, and Xavier Parent (all being able to play center) are on the wings.
Since it is their first preseason game of the year, I think the Melovsky line will play in New Jersey, especially as fans may be looking forward to seeing LaChance and Hameenaho in person. Since Luke Glendening may very well have the edge in the fourth line center battle, I imagine he will end up playing in front of Sheldon Keefe in Quebec. However, Kevin Rooney and Juho Lammikko also need to impress the head coach, so I also would not be terribly surprised to see one of or both those lines go to Quebec (especially if they keep Glendening in Newark to use MacDermid as star injury deterrent). Defensively, I think that Cholowski-Addison pairing is one Keefe is looking at to determine NHL extras, so I would predict they will be playing first or second pair minutes in Quebec.
The Goals for Today
Almost every Devil in camp will get to play today. That means that the Devils may make several cuts from their preseason roster tomorrow. With limited spots to hand out for the regular season, that being a temporary fourth line role in replacement for the injured Stefan Noesen, alongside extra skaters, the Devils really have to start narrowing who they give ice time in the preseason if they are still unsure about their decisions. So far, Luke Glendening has stood out as a fourth line center option, while Nathan Legare’s game against the Islanders got the attention of the coaching staff enough that he’s playing with a possible regular season fourth line in Paul Cotter and Cody Glass.
But while Glendening competes with Rooney and Lammikko, with Legare trying to stand out from the pack of wingers, the coaching staff cannot forget giving the younger players a shot. On offense, there were the five young AHLers all making their preseason debuts. If Shane LaChance starts scoring left and right in preseason, he will quickly make himself appear a legitimate fourth line option. Matyas Melovsky might be able to insert himself into the competition with Glendening and the other centers. Hameenaho could make a case to give him a shot on the NHL roster with his offensive gifts. And from the first practice group, perhaps Topias Vilen could make a case for himself to get ice time as an extra in Kovacevic’s absence in his preseason debut.
Whatever may happen, it continues to be an obvious goal of the preseason to stay healthy. For the most part, the Devils have done a good job of that so far this preseason. Calen Addison and Ethan Edwards already returned to game action after being injured against the Rangers and Islanders, respectively, while only Marc McLaughlin remains out with an injury he sustained on Friday, which was unfortunately confirmed by Keefe to be camp-ending at the least. As long as nobody else joins McLaughlin, the Devils will be doing mostly well in terms of staying healthy.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of the split-squad day? Which game will you be watching? Will you be watching both? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.