Devils Notebook
Devils Notebook: Good News, Bad News. Keefe Provides Injury Updates
It was good news, bad news for the Devils ahead of their tilt with the Sharks. Keefe provided a few injury updates post morning skate.
It was good news and bad news for the New Jersey Devils on Friday morning.
There were three goaltenders on the ice. Jacob Markstrom was out early on the ice ahead of his teammates, getting some work in. However, Jake Allen and Nico Daws were also both present, signaling Markstrom’s nearing return, but not quite yet.
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Amid a six-game win streak, Devils head coach, Sheldon Keefe, isn’t trying to change the lineup too much, unless it’s out of necessity.
“He’s doing really well. He’s done well this whole time,” Keefe explained to the Devils media. “I think he only missed one day on the ice, He’s been skating a lot, and obviously he’s getting close to skating with our guys. [Markstrom’s] been taking live shots for a number of days from our guys that are on the injured reserve. This was the first skate with our guys, but I expect he’ll practice with us tomorrow. Then we’ll just take it from there.”
Thus, the projected lines against the Sharks remain unchanged:
Devils Lines Morning Skate 10/24/2025
Forwards
Ondrej Palat – Jack Hughes – Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Arseny Gritsyuk
Paul Cotter – Dawson Mercer – Connor Brown
Stefan Noesen – Lucas Glendening – Brian Halonen
Defensemen
Luke Hughes – Brett Pesce
Dougie Hamilton – Jonas Siegenthaler
Brenden Dillon – Simon Nemec
Goaltenders
Jake Allen
Nico Daws
Here’s the bad news. Cody Glass remained absent. The Devils third-line center was a game-time decision before Wednesday’s tilt with the Minnesota Wild.
Keefe explained he became injured in New Jersey’s Tuesday tilt with the Edmonton Oilers. O
“He’s going to miss some time,” Keefe said. “The exact period, we’re not quite sure. It’s not a day-to-day situation. We’re hoping it’s no more than a couple of weeks, but we’ll see how it goes.”
For now, it’s Dawson Mercer at 3C, which worked well on Wednesday. We’ll see how long that last before perhaps Juho Lammikko returns and makes his Devils debut.
This is exactly what I wanted to see in preseason.
Cody Glass is not a #3C on a true contender. Can Mercer solidify his spot there. He hasn’t produced enough during the last 2 seasons to justify putting him in the top 6. If he can put up 45+ pts while remaining defensively solid then we’re set at #3C.
I don’t see Gritsyuk as a fit with Jack & Bratt. Not 1 of the 3 would you think of as a guy that you want doing the necessary board battles. I think Gritsyuk is a perfect fit with Timo & Nico. Timo & Nico are both shooters with underrated passing skills. Nico at the net front is perfect for them.
Palat is a great fit with Jack & Bratt. He does all the dirty work that they need to be successful. Is he worth $6 million per in the regular season? Hell no. If he doesn’t score in the regular season but does the dirty work allowing Jack & Bratt to score enough to be 1 of the leagues top scoring lines then why complain about it? If Palat’s scoring magic returns in the playoffs then they go from 1 of the top scoring lines to possibly the #1 scoring line
In the 22-23 season Palat had 23pts in 49 games. That’s .47pts per game. In the playoffs he had 3G 4A 7pts in 12 games. That’s good for .58pts per game. Last years playoffs with Jack out isn’t comparable. It’s how Palat plays with Jack & Bratt.
In Tampa we saw Palat in the playoffs every year & that’s why he got the $6 per. We haven’t put him in the playoffs to really determine his worth there.
If:
Palat stays with Jack & Bratt
Gritsyuk is a fit with Timo & Nico
Mercer proves to be a valuable #3C
Then this team will be extremely good & deep. Mercer’s had an amazing start. We’d assume Gritsyuk is going to improve all season. 1G 4A in 7 games is a pretty great start.
Can’t wait to see what we look like against Colorado. They look like the team to beat this year