Andrew Gross | NorthJersey

Andrew Gross/NorthJersey.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Pavel Zacha was the last player on the ice, being skated hard long after the Devils’ practice had ended on Monday afternoon at Nationwide Arena.

It’s seemingly a very good indication the 20-year-old forward will again be a healthy scratch when the Devils conclude this three-game road trip against the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night (Faceoff: 7 p.m.; Television: MSG Plus; Radio: WFAN-101.9FM/660AM, digital One Jersey Network), the start of a home-and-home series with the Metropolitan Division leaders.

Jeffrey T. Barnes, AP

“I don’t know anything,” an admittedly frustrated Zacha said of Tuesday’s lineup. “But I skated so that tells everything.”

Coach John Hynes said lineup changes were being considered for Tuesday night – 22-year-old defenseman Steven Santini has been a healthy scratch for three straight games and gritty defenseman Dalton Prout has been a healthy scratch for 14 straight games – but repeated the organization needs to see a “consistent compete and a tougher player to play against” from Zacha.

Zacha, the sixth overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, was also a healthy scratch in Saturday’s lackluster 5-0 loss at Arizona and logged just 9:21 in a 2-1 win at Colorado on Friday. That was the last in a stretch of six straight games Zacha was in the lineup after being a healthy scratch in four of five games from Nov. 9-18.

“Yeah, frustrating is the right word,” said Zacha, who has two goals and four assists in 21 games after notching eight goals and 16 assists in 70 games as a rookie. “It’s hard to explain. I’m just not happy with what’s going on with my game or that I’m not playing so I’m not really happy. It’s something that’s not fun, too, just to practice.”

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While Hynes has been clear in explaining to the media what the organization wants to see from Zacha, the 6-foot-3, 210-forward said he’s not sure what he needs to show to get back into the lineup.

“To be honest, I don’t know,” Zacha said. “I didn’t talk to anyone so I don’t know what is going on. I’m not playing so the only thing I can do again is practice hard. I’m not feeling great.”

When Zacha was out of the lineup last month, Hynes said the organization met with both Zacha and his agent, Patrik Stefan, to make sure everybody was on the same page.

Zacha said he was meeting with Stefan on Monday after practice.

“He wants to get better,” Devils right wing Jimmy Hayes said. “He continues to build in the right direction. It’s figuring out that he’s got this high-end talent, skill wise, but he’s also got this big body. Once he uses those two things together, he can be a force.”

Hynes had said in November there was no consideration of sending Zacha to Binghamton (AHL) and he repeated that stance on Monday.

AP FILE PHOTO

“Our focus with him right now is to be in the NHL and to play,” Hynes said. “We want to be able to teach guys and explain what needs to be done. Our focus still for him is we’re hoping he turns a corner here in his consistency and his compete level. We really like him as a player and he’s a great kid.

“We’re not entering that [the AHL] right now,” Hynes added. “We’re trying to entertain the NHL and hopefully he gets it and that’s why we use the word self-starter. You’ve got to be a self-starter in this league to be in every night.”

BRIEFS: Hynes announced goalie Cory Schneider would start on Tuesday night. …The NHL Network announced on Monday it had re-hired Devils Hall of Famer Scott Stevens as a studio analyst, a role he filled during the 2015-16 season.