Having Taylor Hall on their left has helped rookie forwards Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt see plenty of success playing on the Devils' top line.

Now how will they handle playing without Hall?

Hall will miss at least Thursday's game against the Montreal Canadiens with a right knee contusion, so the two teenagers will be leaned on even more to set the tone. They plan on doing so without altering their approach.

"Me and Nico just need to keep playing, even if he's not out there," Bratt told NJ Advance Media. "(Hall's) a top player in the league and he's making me and Nico better every shift. It's tough to play without him, but even if he's not playing, we need to keep working and playing our game. We can't change too much."

Bratt moved over to Hischier's left wing during line rushes at Wednesday's practice, so it appears he will play on his natural side. Right winger Drew Stafford joined them on the top line on Wednesday.

The two rookies, plus rookie defenseman Will Butcher, are tied for second on the team with 20 points apiece, and all three trail only Hall's 31 points.

"For all of us younger guys, I think we've just got to keep playing," Bratt said. "We're not thinking about pressure or anything. We just want to go out there and help the team win, and get two points."

Along with Hall's absence, the Devils will also be missing top-six forwards Marcus Johansson and Kyle Palmieri on Thursday. Johansson is still out with an ankle bruise, while Palmieri won't be ready to be activated off IR with his broken right foot.

Regardless of who the two rookies skate with, Devils coach John Hynes doesn't expect anything different from them.

"The way that they've skated, the way they've competed, they've been very good players on that, as has Taylor," Hynes said. "So I don't think they need to change anything. We don't need them to do anything more, we just need them to continue to play the way that they've played and be factors and try to help us win a game."

Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Find NJ.com Devils on Facebook.