New Jersey Devils Daily: Henrique’s Role, Zacha Back In Lineup, More

On today’s New Jersey Devils Daily, John Hynes switches up the lines, dropping Adam Henrique down, Pavel Zacha is back in the lineup and previewing tonight’s game against Minnesota.

The biggest news coming out of this weekend for the New Jersey Devils was a shakeup of the team’s lines. After a rough stretch, to say the least, head coach John Hynes dropped Adam Henrique to the bottom line. This may not be a bad thing. Playing with the team’s leading goal scorer in Brian Gibbons may give Henrique the boost he needs to break out of his funk. The two have shown they can play really well together on the penalty kill. Now, he can show how well he plays in 5-on-5 play.

New Jersey Devils: Brian Gibbons Can Help Adam Henrique Get Going

Another Devils player leaving much to be desired is Pavel Zacha. After missing four of the past five games as a healthy scratch, Hynes put Zacha back into the lineup. In fact, he moved him all the way to the second line. Chris Ryan with NJ.com talks about what he is out to prove tonight. It seems talking with his agent and the coaches really put his stint in the NHL into perspective. He told Ryan that he understands now that this is much different than Juniors. You can’t have a bad game in the NHL and expect everything to stay the same. Zacha has to bring it night in and night out.

Devils’ Pavel Zacha out to prove what he can do

While hearing this from Zacha is definitely a positive, a decision needs to be made on the 2015 first-round pick. Do the Devils put him at wing full time and hope he gets his game going? Do they send him to the AHL to find his confidence? Or, do they trade him? Pucks and Pitchforks goes over all these options to try and determine what to do with all his talent.

New Jersey Devils: What To Do With Pavel Zacha

The Devils take on the Zach Parise-less Minnesota Wild tonight on the road. Like we said before, the biggest headline is the change in lines. We will get to see them in action. Chris Fieldhouse with All About The Jersey previews tonight’s matchup. An interesting anecdote from his analysis is the role of Brian Boyle. He thinks the center man would work best on the fourth line.

Game Preview #20: New Jersey Devils at Minnesota Wild

The latest NHL power rankings are out from CBS Sports, and the Devils are dropping. In fact, they were the furthest dropping team in the top ten. The Devils fell to eighth, behind fellow Metropolitan Division opponents Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders. Obviously, losing two straight games will hurt your position. Just very weird that there are no players in the Metro in the top five.

NHL Power Rankings: Penguins, Predators climb but Maple Leafs hottest of all