The Rangers worked the puck around the offensive zone on a power play. An errant pass came to dynamic winger Mika Zibanejad at the near blue line.
Devils defenseman John Marino read the play immediately and pounced. He beat Zibanejad to the puck and chipped it out of the zone. Marino then started up ice in an effort to recollect the puck for what would have a been a surefire breakaway. However, Zibanejad, also understanding the situation, got his body in Marino's path, negating the breakaway but also negating the Rangers' power play as he was called for interference.
That type of smarts from Marino has been on display during the preseason and all of training camp. And head coach Lindy Ruff has taken notice of that, and much more from the young blueliner.
"How steady he's been. He makes the right plays, keeps the game real simple," Ruff said. "Has the ability to read, jump up in the play, get involved, which we've seen. I really feel with the type of game that we want to play that's really important."
Marino, 25, has been a perfect fit so far for the Devils. The club wants to play an up-temp, quick-transition style of play. A style of play that Marino relishes.
"It's a fast transition here," said the fourth-year defenseman. "I'm feeling pretty well. They're a fast and skilled team. Playing in the games so far, I think everyone has been playing pretty well. We just hope to carry that on into the regular season."
Playing with speed and skill is something of which Marino is familiar. He spent the previous three seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team that plays a similar type of style. During his time in Pittsburgh, Marino played with legendary players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. And he soaked up as much as he could from the team's elder statesmen.
"Playing with some of those guys was pretty special," Marino said. "Hopefully, I'll be able to take what I learned from them and bring that here."
Marino, who was acquired in a trade for Ty Smith over the summer, has spent the majority of training camp paired with Brendan Smith (and portions with Kevin Bahl). The regular reps with a partner like Smith will help the duo when the time comes for the puck to drop in the regular season.
"Being able to get that chemistry early on here in camp, practice together, playing together in some games and learning each other's tendencies, I think that's huge," Marino said. "We kind of go hand-in-hand. He's pretty defensive. Hopefully, I can bring some offense too. We're kind of a shutdown D pair and that's what we hope to bring to the team."
Marino, a righthanded blueliner, has not only worked with Smith during practices and games, but they've put in a lot of extra reps after practice as well to hone in on their details.
"He's been around a while. I'm just trying to learn from him, too," Marino said. "If he has any tips or anything, I'm open ears. Just being able to communicate with him, I think that'll be great for us."
All in all, it's been a smooth transition for Marino on and off the ice to New Jersey. And he's hoping that'll carry over into regular-season hockey.
"It's been great," he said. "Learning the new environment, the new guys on the team. They've been great here. They made it pretty easy on me."
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October 03, 2022 at 02:50AM
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Marino Making Smooth Transition | FEATURE - New Jersey Devils
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