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Adam Henrique will make his season debut for the Devils tonight.

(Photo by Saed Hindash/The Star-Ledger)



Adam Henrique and Adam Larsson will both play their first games for the Devils tonight against the Islanders at the Prudential Center.



Henrique, back from Nov. 29 thumb surgery in which he had a ligament re-attached, will center the fourth line with Krys Barch and Matt Anderson while also seeing some time on the power play.



Larsson, who was a healthy scratch for the team's first five matches, will be paired on defense with Andy Greene as Mark Fayne sits out with an apparent wrist or arm injury.



Stefan Matteau, who has reached his five-game NHL limit before the first year on his entry-level contract kicks in, will be a healthy scratch.



Henrique, who was injured Nov. 25 while playing for Albany (AHL) during the lockout, wasn't able to get a full practice with the team. He has been skating and shooting.



"That's kind of our schedule didn't allow for practices. If I were to wait for some full practices I'd be out another couple of weeks," Henrique said. "We discussed things today and came to the conclusion this is the best way to do things because there are no practices for a couple of weeks for us. The coach will control my minutes and I'll be on the fourth line."



Coach Pete DeBoer said of using Henrique on the fourth line: "I think that's the plan right now. Knowing him, I don't think it will last long."

The coach said he has a number in his head for the minutes he plans to use Henrique, but "it's not something that's concrete. We'll see how it goes."



Henrique said playing in the AHL was a benefit to his recovery.



"That helped, I think, to come back quicker. Obviously I had a full month off where I wasn't allowed to do anything. That's tough to going from playing every day to having to sit around every day," he said. "It took a while but our trainers did a great job. I feel good."

Henrique, a finalist for the Calder Trophy as top rookie last season, knows what to expect, so that will make his comeback easier. But it will also bring a measure of pressure.

"Right now the first game I'm not looking too far ahead. I'm just going to take it one shift at a time. It's different skating on your own with a couple of guys and then going into a game," Henrique noted. "It's a different speed, you're out there hitting. I'm sure it will take a little but just to get back in the normal swing of things but I fully expect my game to be where it was at last year and down the stretch.

"I'm just excited to be back with the guys and in the room to get things back to normal."

The Devils, who made a roster spot for him by putting Cam Janssen (he cleared at noon) on waivers and assigning him to Albany (AHL), are happy to see him back.

"It's nice," DeBoer said. "I thought we did a great job as a group of everyone stepping up while he was out. But he's a big part of our team, obviously, and you can slot people in the right spots when he's in the lineup."

I asked Henrique if he feels stiffness or soreness in his thumb when shooting.

"It feels good when I shoot. When i get warmed up or take some shots or make passes and it feels fine," he said. "The thumb is the majority of your hand. Without that it's hard to handle the puck, shoot or pass. It's hard to do anything. I feel it's where it needs to be to feel comfortable and be able to play. It's good to go. It feels great, looks great and the strength is back."

Is he able to play the piano?

"I've never played the piano in the first place, so I don't have to worry about that," Henrique said with a laugh.

Rich Chere: rchere@starledger.com; twitter.com/Ledger_NJDevils