New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe elevated Paul Cotter to the third line ahead his team's game against the Washington Capitals.
Entering Saturday night's game, New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe knew he wanted to get Erik Haula's line going.
Keefe made the decision to swap Ondrej Palat and Paul Cotter because he liked what he saw in Prague when Cotter played with Haula and Stefan Noesen.
It was the perfect game to promote Cotter as he collected three points (two goals, one assist) in three games against the Washington Capitals over his career.
In an elevated role, playing with Erik Haula and Stefan Noesen, he once again shined and, more importantly, made his line extremely effective.
The trio combined for two goals and six assists, leading the Devils to a 5-3 victory.
With less than four minutes remaining in the first period, the newly constructed line notched the Devils' second goal of the game to give New Jersey its first lead of the night. His linemates earned the two assists.
In the second period, Cotter found the back of the net again. With six minutes remaining, his snap shot beat opposing goaltender Charlie Lindgren to extend the Devils lead to 4-2 over the Capitals. Once again, Noesen and Haula were credited with the helpers.
"We are just three hard-working guys and it clicked tonight," Noesen said.
By the final horn, Noesen earned three assists, a new career-high in a single game. All three were primary assists.
"Just the fact that he made plays," Keefe said of Noesen. "He had opportunities to make plays, and he did. That whole line was really good; Haula was good in the faceoff circle, and Noesen played really hard. Whenever those guys were called upon, whatever the game presented, they made the play."
"He is going to be first on the forecheck," Cotter said of playing with Noesen. "He communicates very loudly and we are all are on the same page, so it makes it really easy (for Haula and I) to read off him. Once we get the puck, based on what he does, we can do our thing. He is a driver of that line, so it makes it easy."
Additionally, Haula earned three assists, which matched a career-high from March 24, 2022 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Devils next test will be Monday afternoon when they host the Utah Hockey Club at 1:00 P.M.
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