New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe swapped Paul Cotter and Ondrej Palat ahead of their game against the Washington Capitals.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe tweaked his forward group before the New Jersey Devils game against the Washington Capitals.
During the team's morning skate at Capital One Arena, Paul Cotter got promoted to the third line with Erik Haula and Stefan Noesen to play in Ondrej Palat's spot.
Palat was moved down to the fourth line, skating with Curtis Lazar and Nathan Bastian.
"I am trying to get Lazar and Bastian the simplicity, competitiveness, and direct nature of their game to continue and bring out the best in Palat," Keefe told reporters in Washington, D.C. "I liked what Cotter brought to (Haula's line) when we used them the one night in Prague for Game 2. It is a little bit of trying to get the Haula group going and wanting to give Lazar and Bastian some consistency."
The Devils are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. Keefe criticized his team for their puck play and their defending.
New Jersey will look to turn things around Saturday night with the following projected lineup:
Timo Meier - Jack Hughes - Jesper Bratt
Tomas Tatar - Nico Hischier - Dawson Mercer
Paul Cotter - Erik Haula - Stefan Noesen
Ondrej Palat - Curtis Lazar - Nathan Bastian
Brenden Dillon - Dougie Hamilton
Jonas Siegenthaler - Johnny Kovacevic
Seamus Casey - Simon Nemec
Jacob Markstrom
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