The New Jersey Devils face the Washington Capitals this Thursday, November 12, at 5 p.m. Pacific Time and 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
Ahead of the game, Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke to the media and discussed several topics, including the situations involving Brett Pesce and Jonathan Kovacevic, as well as the call-up of Vladislav Kolyachonok.
He also addressed Amadeus Lombardi’s situation, Stefan Noesen’s, and much more.
Below is the full transcript of the most important moments from Keefe’s pregame press conference ahead of the matchup against the Capitals.
Sheldon Keefe Admits the Schedule Has ‘Taken a Bit of a Toll’ on the Devils
Question: And obviously, there were a couple of moving parts based on what we saw at morning skate. No (Brett) Pesce; obviously, Kovy (Johnathan Kovacevic). Do you have an update on everybody? Let’s start on the back end.
Answer: Yeah, Pesce is sick and unavailable tonight. Kovy is getting his imaging done today, so we’ll have a better idea after that. Obviously, he’s not available tonight. It’s not a day-to-day situation at this point, but we just don’t know the extent of it.
Q: Does that mean you’re going to call up a defenseman?
A: Yes, yeah, we are. We have (Vladislav) Kolyachonok on his way from Utica, so that’ll give us a sixth defenseman.
(Amadeus) Lombardi is going to be out tonight. Obviously, we welcome (Stefan) Noesen and Lenni here today. I think that decision really comes down to the fact that this schedule, the way it’s unfolded, has taken a bit of a toll on us. I want to get some fresh guys in. It’s also a good opportunity for Lombardi to get a bit of a reset. His minutes aren’t as high as some of the others, but given his inexperience in the league, this schedule becomes even more daunting. I feel like his game has slipped a bit, so this gives some fresh guys an opportunity to come in.
I say they’re fresh, of course. They’re fresh this year, but Noesen has already been here, and Lenni had a good run last year as well.
Q: It’s something you actually mentioned in Winnipeg, that this might be the most intense part of your regular season, given how things are coming at you and the lack of practice time. How do you think the guys have been handling that?
A: Yeah, I think we’ve done a good job. I think our last two games, and I include the Toronto game in that, have been challenging. Obviously, that was a back-to-back, getting in at three in the morning, so you sort of expect that one to take a bite out of you.
But when you look at the cumulative effect, I do think it’s taken a bit of a toll on us. We want to get some guys in today and have a renewed, fresh approach.
I’ve looked at the rest of our schedule, and I feel like this 10-game stretch – this is games nine and 10 against Washington this week – is the toughest part of our season before we get a bit of a breather. When you look at the travel distance, the time zones, the quality of the opponents, and the volume of games in such a short amount of time, it’s the hardest stretch of our season.
We’ve got a similar stretch coming out of Christmas, but I don’t think it’ll be to the same degree. Our guys have handled this incredibly well to this point, and we want to make sure we finish on a strong note.
Q: Kolyachonok will play, right?
A: Yes, he will. Yep.
Q: Coming home here with Washington later this month, you also have a home-and-home with another Metro Division team in Columbus. I know you may have touched on this last year with Colorado, but what’s the value, from a coaching standpoint, of getting those two games back to back?
A: Yeah, it’s good. It helps with the pre-scouting and things like that. Usually, especially with a schedule like this, if we haven’t had a practice in two weeks or so, you’re coming off a game and trying to clean things up from that one while also preparing for a new opponent.
When you play the same team a second time, that’s one less thing to worry about, or at least the two games are somewhat connected. And it adds a little extra juice to the regular season when you play the same team twice. It’s not unlike a playoff atmosphere, or as close as you’re going to get to one during the regular season.
At this time of the season, that’s exciting, but it’s obviously important at the same time. These are important points. We need to play well and get good results within our division. This is a team we’ll be competing with all year. They’re a really good, deep team, and I know we’re going to be put to the test again tonight.
Devils HC Sheldon Keefe Gets Honest on Team’s Fatigue Before Capitals Game