Casting adjustment in Washington, Keefe explains Palat demotion

The New Jersey Devils look to get back on the winning list when they take on a division rival on Saturday night at the Nations Capitol. The Washington Capitals open their 50th season at home when they host the Devils at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time.

REQUIRED: How to watch the Devils vs. Washington Capitals game; Projected lines, notes and more

The Devils had a good morning before facing the Caps, and it appears head coach Sheldon Keefe made a change to the lineup following New Jersey's 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

Now Ondrej Palat skates on the fourth row alongside Curtis Lazar and Nathan Bastian. Paul Cotter was promoted to the third row alongside Erik Haula and Stefan Noesen.

This is what the workflow looked like this morning:

Devils Morning Skate*

Forward

Timo Meier – Jack Hughes – Jesper Bratt

Tomas Tatar – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer

Paul Cotter – Erik Haula – Stefan Noesen

Ondrej Palat – Curtis Lazar – Nathan Bastian

defender

Brenden Dillon – Dougie Hamilton

Jonas Siegenthaler – Johnathan Kovacevic

Seamus Casey – Simon Nemec

Kurtis MacDermid

goalkeeper

Jacob Markstrom

Jake Allen

*Subject to changes in the lineup

Ondrej Palat's demotion

It's certainly not an ideal situation to have Palat on the fourth row. The Devils signed the former two-time Stanley Cup champion three summers ago to a five-year, $30 million contract (averaging $6 million per year). Since arriving in New Jersey, Palat hasn't exactly proven to be the offensive player he was with the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 122 games with the Devils over two-plus seasons, Palat totaled 19 goals and 54 points. He has yet to get on the scoresheet in two games this year and has been a net negative in CF%, xGF% and goal opportunity differential.

However, Cotter put the ball into the net twice and was not only a physical scorer monster, but also showed offensive strengths that one can imagine will lead to more scoring opportunities in a larger role.

“I would say it’s more like Cotter. I don’t know if we can call it our fourth line either,” Keefe explained. “These guys were consistently good in every single game right up until preseason. They were probably our most effective team in our last game. I try to keep Lazar and Bastian's simplicity and competitiveness as well as the direct nature of their game to continue and get 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 about getting the Haula group going and giving the couples like Lazar and Bastian some consistency.”

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