Hughes and Pesce play in Detroit | PREVIEW

MORNING SKATE REVIEW

DETROIT, MI – Defensive reinforcements are on the way for the New Jersey Devils as head coach Sheldon Keefe announced that Brett Pesce and Luke Hughes will both play their first games of the season against the Red Wings on Thursday night.

Both Pesce and Hughes missed training camp and the start of the regular season due to offseason injuries. Pesce underwent fibula surgery as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes, while Hughes injured his shoulder just before training camp.

Keefe is looking forward to incorporating them into everyday life.

“Pesce is obviously well established and excited to have him in our group, but in a more official capacity in our group, in uniform, it's just great,” Keefe said. “Obviously Luke is an exciting young player, last season was great as a first year and I’m looking forward to getting to know him better with him in uniform too.”

It's been a long wait for Pesce, who signed with the Devils on July 1, and the feeling of finally being able to put on the jersey in a game is very special.

“Just excitement, I haven’t felt this nervousness in a long time,” he said, “It feels like it’s my first game. Simply exciting, a new beginning for me, a new team. I’m ready to go into battle with the boys.”

It's also a good time for the Devils to strengthen their defense. The team has struggled to keep the puck out of their own net in recent games, and the addition of the talents of Hughes and Pesce will certainly be a big boost. They alone cannot change the outcome of the games, as Keefe expects his team to significantly improve their game and, in particular, limit the time they have as a team to defend.

“There are areas in our game, especially with the puck… I think defensively with the puck we have a good foundation of what we need to do,” Keefe said. “Some things creep up, like the other night, but for me it's more the result of poor puck play that leaves us overwhelmed and tired with the amount of defensive tasks.

“When you defend tired it doesn't matter what your structure is, it's the same as things falling apart when you're not competing. It's playing with the puck that can get our game going a lot more, so we can attack a lot more.”