TROY — To give their guest du jour ample opportunity to get his work in, Albany Devils goaltenders Yann Danis and Ken Appleby divided time Monday at one end of the Knickerbacker Ice Arena, allowing Cory Schneider to man the other net.

Schneider, the New Jersey Devils’ all-star representative this season, was assigned to Albany for a one-day conditioning stint as he recovers from a Grade 1 MCL sprain of his right knee.

“With our schedule in Jersey, we haven’t practiced really since last Tuesday or Wednesday,” said Schneider, who hasn’t played since injuring the knee March 4 at Dallas. “I’ve been getting some shots with a couple of injured guys, but nothing to simulate a full practice. With our day off today, we discussed it, and coach (John) Hynes brought it up to me. I’ve been itching to get back and get back practicing, so we thought this would be a good opportunity.”

A majority of the A-Devils had shared a locker room with Schneider during training camp, so he was made to feel at home while the AHL team prepared for Tuesday night’s home game against the Hartford Wolf Pack.

“He’s a great guy, a class guy,” captain Rod Pelley said. “Any dressing room he walks into, there’s going to be excitement. He fits in anywhere.”

The New Jersey Devils, who lost 3-2 Sunday night at Carolina, did not practice Monday, so making the 150-mile trip to Albany was the only way for Schneider to get in a full workout.

“They didn’t want to rush me back and risk further injury,” Schneider said, “but physically I’ve felt great the last week to 10 days, no setbacks, so I’d love to get in there.”

More from Schneider

Schneider offered some observations on topics not directly involved with his injury:

On Albany’s success: “It’s encouraging, and we’ve already seen some those guys. We’ve had some injuries on our team, and we’ve been drawing guys from here all season long, and they haven’t seemed to miss a beat here, which is encouraging. It seems like we have a little more depth in the organization than we’ve had in years past.”

On New Jersey’s season: “We’re close right now. We’re only five or six points out (of a playoff spot), and a lot of people didn’t expect us to be within earshot at the trade deadline. We’ve proved a lot of people wrong. We still aren’t where we want to be. We want to be in the playoffs at this time, but we’ve gotten that culture back that the Devils have had in the past, an expectation of success and how to carry ourselves and how we want to play. That’s been important, too, we’ve taken a culture step in the right direction.”

On Scott Wedgewood’s performance: “They’ve all been great. Scotty got an opportunity. It sounded like he was playing well here, coming back from that injury, and sometimes you carry that momentum where you’re feeling good when you step up the next level. It’s harder, but sometimes it can seem easier. It can be a cleaner game. It can be a more predictable game with the way your teammates are playing in front of you, if you’re seeing the puck and feeling good. You can tell he’s playing with confidence, which is great for our team. He won a couple of big games, and he’s given a chance every game he’s played.”

Injury report

Defenseman Brandon Burlon and Raman Hrabarenka missed the A-Devils’ weekend games because they were sick. Kowalsky said they likely will be available for Tuesday night.

Injured forwards Chris McKelvie, Ryan Kujawinski and Nick Lappin will not be available. Defenseman Dan Kelly, sidelined since March 11 with a knee injury, will be sidelined at least a couple of more weeks.

Baby Devil in waiting

Pelley missed Saturday night’s game in Hershey awaiting birth of his second daughter. His wife still hasn’t delivered.

“Hopefully, she can hold off until Wednesday,” Kowalsky said with a laugh.

Gone, not forgotten

The Devils released center Gunnar Hughes and defenseman Mattieu Brodeur from their tryout contracts. Both played in the two weekend games and are headed back to rejoin the Adirondack Thunder.

New addition

The Devils signed forward Trevor Mingoia, who began his college career at Union, to an amateur tryout agreement.

Mingoia’s college season ended over the weekend with Providence’s loss in the NCAA Tournament, He played 36 games for the Friars, getting 14 goals and 23 assists. A native of the Rochester suburb of Fairport, Mingoia was on Providence’s NCAA championship team last season.

He played 18 games for Union in 2011-12, producing three goals and three assists in 18 games. He played the following season for Tri-City of the U.S. Hockey League before joining Providence and coach Nate Leaman, who recruited him at Union.