Andrew Gross

Staff Writer, @AGrossRecord

The Devils have some lineup decisions that need to be finalized for tonight’s rematch with the Flyers at Prudential Center.

First, the team must determine whether either Miles Wood (left shoulder) or Jacob Josefson (upper body) is available, preferably both. If both can play, both will and the Devils will be able to dress the normal 12 forwards and six defensemen.

If one of the two cannot play, then the Devils can dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen. And if both can’t play, then the Devils must decide whether they want 12 and six or 11 and seven and who to recall from Albany (AHL).

Wood, who aggravated a chronically sore left shoulder in Saturday’s penalty-filled 3-0 loss at Philadelphia, did not practice on Monday and did not participate in today’s optional morning skate as he underwent treatment.

Suspended Prout questions Gudas' actions

Josefson, who has been absent for 16 games, practiced on Monday and skated this morning and does expect to play at some point this week before the regular season ends. Tonight just might not be the night he’s fully ready to return. Josefson stayed on the ice late after the morning skate to push himself a little further and then the Devils were going to see how he reacted to the hard skate.

What the Devils know for certain is that defenseman Dalton Prout is not available as he was suspended by the NHL on Monday for two games for his five-minute interference major on Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas at 7:59 of the second period.

Gudas had just leveled John Quenneville and was skating, with his head down, toward the Flyers bench. Prout came off the bench and wanted to stick up for Quenneville by confronting Gudas. Instead, Prout wound up checking Gudas who went to the ice hard, went to the Flyers’ room, returned to finish the second period but has not played since, missing Sunday’s 4-3 road loss to the Rangers and also out of tonight’s lineup.

Prout wound up fighting Wayne Simmonds and also receiving a five-minute fighting major and a game misconduct to go with his interference major.

At 8:18, Dale Weise leveled the Devils’ Kyle Palmieri along the right boards and drew a five-minute major for boarding.

Here was Prout’s reaction to his two-game suspension as he spoke to the media following this morning’s skate (he can practice while suspended):

“Right away, first and foremost, I respect their decision,” Prout said of the NHL Department of Player Safety, which conducted a phone hearing with Prout on Monday afternoon. “I respect they have a job to do and they’re doing it to the best of their abilities. But, with that said, I, 200 percent, completely don’t agree with it. That’s just my opinion.

“It was very surprising to me in that I understood their point of view on my intent,” said Prout, as the NHL ruled he targeted a vulnerable player while making no attempt to join the play down ice. “But to get two games for something that was so not violent. If I really wanted to hurt him, I could have when he was in a vulnerable position. My mindset was to confront him and to stop and to challenge him. If I wanted to take four hard strides and put a shoulder to his head, just like Dale Weise did to Kyle Palmieri, I could have done that. That was the frustrating thing abut it and that’s why I don’t agree with it.”

Prout stressed that he does not understand why he was suspended and Weise did not have a hearing for his hit.

“One hundred percent, that’s the most frustrating part about it, for reasons I’ve said,” Prout said. “Everything the league has tried to do, to give supplemental discipline to, is to get that part out of the game. For me, Dale Weise went out the shift after it happened. He was on the first power-play unit, someplace where he usually isn’t there. To me, it was intent to injure, premeditated, jump. Palms is already engaged with someone in front of him. He came from his blindside, jump, head check. Luckily, he didn’t get hurt. He went through the concussion protocol. It’s tough to compare those two situations when they happen so close together and I get two games and he doesn’t get a hearing.”

Devils coach John Hynes, too, said he was disappointed in the outcome.

“It’s disappointing in the decision, based on what happened,” Hynes said. “We were proud of what Dalton did. It’s disappointing to hear the result. We’ve got to live with the decision.”

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