NEWARK, N.J -Devils head coach Lindy Ruff returned to the team after taking a brief personal leave. It wasn't just the head coach who has returned. The club currently has no one on the COVID-19 protocol list. Meaning all players (other than injury) are available to play.
"Everyone is ready to go," Ruff said. "I think some players are at different stages (of recovery). There may be a few players that feel better than other. But they're all cleared and ready to play."
Seventeen Devils players have contracted COVID-19 during the last six weeks, nearly the entire roster. With the virus having mostly gone through the team, moving forward it will likely be much less of an issue.
"We find ourselves in a good spot, knowing that most of them have gone through COVID protocol," Ruff said. "We almost have a healthy team."
Sevy
The Devils will be getting defenseman Damon Severson back in the lineup. The blueliner missed the team's game on Long Island last week with COVID. He has been elevated to the club's top D-man (in the absence of Dougie Hamilton) and has logged minutes of 26:42, 26:38, 25:08, 29:52 and 26:19 in his past five games.
"Before he went out, he was playing on our top pair and playing his best hockey," Ruff said of Severson, who is one point away from career No. 200. "Offensively he was doing a good job for us. Defensively, playing against the top lines.
"(Jonas) Siegenthaler and himself were really excelling as a pair together. When you have a pair like that that can consume the minutes they can against the top lines as well as they've played, it's great getting him back in the lineup."
'Yotes
Arizona may be coming to New Jersey with a 9-24-4 record, but over its past nine games, the club has gone 4-3-2.
"We talked this morning about the fact that we're playing a team we can't take lightly," Ruff said. "They're a .500 team in their last 10 games, they played some good hockey and they've beat some good teams. We know we're going to have to play our best game. We're going to have to play well away from the puck to beat that hockey club we're playing.
"They're finding ways to win games. They're trying to create some belief for themselves. Any time you play a team like that, that has a chip on their shoulder, it's a dangerous game to play."
--Sam Kasan, NewJerseyDevils.com
