\n<\/p>\n
Keefe described Tuesday as a \u201creset,\u201d not because of one player, but because of the collective response.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got foundation and structure,\u201d he said. \u201cIt just kind of gets away from it over the course of time. Yesterday was a real reset for us. It\u2019s coincidental that Pesce is coming back at the same time, but certainly it\u2019s time for the penalty kill to start being way more consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n
That reset will be tested immediately. Even without Eichel and Theodore, Keefe sees plenty of danger across the Vegas lineup.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally good power play team, lots of great players here today,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ve got lots of threats, so we\u2019re going to be put to the test. We\u2019re hoping to see our guys way more assertive.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Devils last saw Vegas recently and, despite the result, Keefe liked stretches of the game. The challenge now is replicating that level away from home, in a building that feeds energy to the home side.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to use the energy that comes with playing in this building to our own benefit,\u201d Keefe said. \u201cTravel delays, getting in late, time change \u2014 not a normal game day. So have a great warmup, get the energy, feed off it and get a good start.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed directly to recent starts as the line of demarcation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were hesitant and slow the last time we played these guys. We were hesitant and slow against Vancouver,\u201d Keefe said. \u201cWe were not hesitant at all against Anaheim. That\u2019s the message. Be ready to skate and work right from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pesce\u2019s return also intersects with growth elsewhere in the lineup. Keefe praised Luke Hughes\u2019 recent play, noting that the points finally matched the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been in those spots a fair bit. Pucks were getting blocked or missing the net,\u201d Keefe said. \u201cIt\u2019s great to see those fall. His overall game has been very good \u2014 consistent, good defensively, moving the puck well in transition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Up front, patience remains the theme with Jesper Bratt.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been in alone and hit posts, hit the shaft of the goaltender\u2019s stick,\u201d Keefe said. \u201cLast season, he scored on a lot of those. Stay with it. Don\u2019t let it consume you to the point it breaks down other areas of your game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cassidy echoed a similar message from the Vegas side, framing the absences as opportunity rather than excuse.<\/p>\n
\u201cOther guys probably want to own a little bit more,\u201d he said. \u201cWe still gotta play the same team game. First thing we gotta do is defend well, play well in front of our goaltender.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the Devils, the opportunity is clear: reestablish habits, regain confidence, and let Pesce\u2019s return strengthen the group without expecting him to solve everything at once.<\/p>\n
As Keefe put it, \u201cIt means a lot to our team \u2014 but we can\u2019t just sit back and say everything\u2019s going to snap back into place.\u201d\n <\/p><\/div>\n
Reset Button Keefe described Tuesday as a \u201creset,\u201d not because of one player, but because of the collective response. \u201cWe\u2019ve got foundation and structure,\u201d he said. \u201cIt just kind of gets away from it over the course of time. Yesterday was a real reset for us. It\u2019s coincidental that Pesce is coming back at the … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Golden-Knights-Shorthanded-as-Devils-Welcome-Back-Pesce-PREVIEW.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13709"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13711,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13709\/revisions\/13711"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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