This could have been Record Night in Music City. Instead, when the Devils visit Nashville tonight, they’ll be trying to avoid a losing streak.
“You don’t want them to slip,” said Jacques Lemaire, whose team’s nine-game road winning streak ended Monday night. “You don’t want them to show up the way we showed up [in Monday’s 3-2 loss in Philly]. You want to bounce back, start to feel good about yourself again.”
The Devils make their first visit of the year to the Western Conference tonight and complete their two-game trip in Dallas Saturday.
They suffered their first loss since Oct. 28 on Monday, ending their eight-game winning streak, the longest in the NHL this season, as well as leaving them one short of the NHL record 10-victory road start of a season, taking a little luster off tonight’s game. They practiced in Nashville yesterday after their flight, instead of skating in Newark before flying, as Lemaire decided to try to offset the effects of the trip.
“After a long flight, you feel sluggish a bit. Going on the ice loosens you up, gives you life, energy,” Lemaire said.
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Devils called up D Tyler Eckford, the reigning AHL player of the week, from Lowell, and sent down D Cory Murphy.