Devils Notebook: Lineup Tweak in Washington, Keefe Explains Palat Demotion

The New Jersey Devils are aiming to get back in the win column when they face a division rival in the Nations Capitol on Saturday night. The Washington Capitals are opening their 50th season at home when they host the Devils at 7 P.M. eastern.

REQUIRED: How to Watch Devils Game vs. Washington Capitals; Projected Lines, Notes & More

The Devils held morning skate ahead of the tilt with the Caps, and it appears head coach Sheldon Keefe has made one tweak to the lineup following New Jersey’s 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

Now skating on the fourth line alongside Curtis Lazar and Nathan Bastian is Ondrej Palat. As for Paul Cotter, he’s been promoted to the third line next to Erik Haula and Stefan Noesen.

Here’s what the workflow looked like this morning:

Devils Morning Skate*

Forwards

Timo Meier – Jack Hughes – Jesper Bratt

Tomas Tatar – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer

Paul Cotter – Erik Haula – Stefan Noesen

Ondrej Palat – Curtis Lazar – Nathan Bastian

Defensemen

Brenden Dillon – Dougie Hamilton

Jonas Siegenthaler – Johnathan Kovacevic

Seamus Casey – Simon Nemec

Kurtis MacDermid

Goaltenders

Jacob Markstrom

Jake Allen

*Lineup subject to change

Ondrej Palat’s Demotion

It’s certainly not an ideal situation to have Palat on the fourth line. The Devils inked the former two-time Stanley Cup Champion to a five-year, $30 million contract ($6 million average annual value) three summers ago. Since his arrival in New Jersey, Palat hasn’t exactly panned out to be the offensive contributor he was with the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 122 games with the Devils across two-plus seasons, Palat’s totaled 19 goals and 54 points. In two game this year, he’s yet to find the scoresheet in any capacity, and has been a net negative in CF%, xGF%, and scoring chance differential.

Cotter, however, has found the back of the net twice and has not only been a physical forechecking monster, but has also showcased offensive upside that one can imagine will lead to more scoring opportunities in an increased role.

“I’d say it’s more Cotter. I don’t know if we can call it our fourth line, either,” Keefe explained. “Those guys have been consistently good every single game all the way back to the preseason. They were probably our most effective line in our last game. I’m trying to get Lazar and Bastian’s simplicity and competitiveness in and direct nature of their game to continue and bring the best out of Palat. Cotter, I liked him with what he brought to that line when I had him there in Prague too. So, it’s a little bit just trying to get the Haula group going and give the pairs such as Lazar and Bastian some consistency.”