MORNING SKATE RECAP
NEWARK, NJ – The Devils were on the ice at Prudential Center for their morning skate ahead of hosting the Montreal Canadiens Thursday night.
Center Cody Glass participated in line rushes and is ready to return to the lineup after missing the previous seven games with an upper-body injury.
“It was a weird injury to have, it popped out of nowhere,” Glass said. “It’s good to be back. I’m happy to be back with the guys.”
Glass said he is 100 percent and shouldn’t be limited at all.
“Full in,” he said. “We’ll see where it goes. I’m just trying to jump right into it, get hit, see how it goes. You never know. It’s hockey.”
Forward Connor Brown, who practiced yesterday but has missed the previous two games, was not on the ice.
FITTING INTO PLACE
With Glass’ return, the Devils are able to reassemble the lines that carried them through the eight-game winning streak. Glass slides back into his 3C spot, which allows Mercer to move to wing and reunite with Nico Hischier and Timo Meier. Some defensive burdens are removed from the shoulders of rookie Arseny Gritsyuk, who will move down to the third line.
It’s amazing how big one man’s absence will shake up the whole lineup. With Glass back in the fold, the rest of the team fits nicely into their best roles.
“It’s very important,” Keefe said of Glass’ return. “It gives us that third center. We were using him in some tough matchup situations. That’s important for us. It allows us to put Mercer back on the wing. We like how that slots everybody in.”
The Devils used the following workflow…
Noesen – Hughes – Bratt
Meier – Hischier – Mercer
Palat – Glass – Gritsyuk
Cotter – Lammikko – Glendening
Siegenthaler – Hamilton
Dillon – Hughes
Cholowski – Nemec
Jacob Markstrom will start in goal.
SCOUTING THE ENEMY
Glass offered this assessment of the Canadiens:
“It’s a team that’s been together for a while. They’ve always had skill, but I think they’re playing a strong defensive game as well. They don’t give up a lot. They’re really good. They have a good D corp. A lot of skill, a lot of young guys, a lot of speed. It’s going to be a very good game, I think.”
