Match Overview
This afternoon the New Jersey Devils will face off against the team’s divisional rivals from Beantown for the second game in a row. However, today the Devils look to take both points against the Bruins who are resting starting goalie Tuuka Rask in favor of backup Jaroslav Halak. This is the second of eight times that these teams will face off this season.
Projected Devils’ Lines
The Devils’ lines should stay the same as what they were Thursday night. However, there has not been any confirmation of this. What is confirmed is that Mackenzie Blackwood will be in between the pipes once again.
Forwards:
Sharangovich/Hughes/Palmieri
Johnsson/Zacha/Gusev
Wood/Zajac/Boqvist
Kuokkanen/McLeod/Bastian
Defense:
Murray/Subban
Smith/Severson
Smith/Tennyson
Goaltenders:
Blackwood
Wedgewood
Projected Bruins’ Lines
The Bruins’ lines stay generally the same as well. The only exceptions being the possible addition of Craig Smith, who missed Thursday’s game with a back injury as well as the aforementioned start of Jaroslav Halak. Here were the Bruins lines at practice today:
Forwards:
Marchand/Bergeron/Bjork or Studnicka
DeBrusk/Krejci/Kase
Ritchie/Coyle/Smith
Fredric/Kuraly/Wagner
Defense:
Lauzon/McAvoy
Grzelcyk/Carlo
Zboril/Miller
Goaltending:
Halak
Rask
What/Who to Watch
- In these two teams’ last meeting, Brad Marchand was the first star of the game. He scored one goal, contributed an assist, and scored the shootout winner. Marchand is looking to build off of this performance with another big game today. He has been dominant the past three seasons before scoring 98 goals and 272 points in 217 games. Marchand is also known to cause chaos, so look for him to maybe get into some situtations he isn’t suppose to this afternoon.
- On the other side of the ice, Jack Hughes gained 14 pounds in muscle during the extended off-season and it showed. Hughes had two assists in Thursday’s game, including an impressive one where he was able to use his newfound strength to push the puck ahead to Miles Wood while drawing a penalty which led to a goal. Hughes didn’t even get his first point until his 7th game of the season last year, so getting multiple points in his first game of 2021 is a good sign for his sophomore year.
- One last thing you should keep your eye on is the Devils’ fourth line of Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, and Nathan Bastian. This trio only averaged about nine and a half minutes of ice time at even strength, but in that time they combined for five hits, which was the most of any forward line. Overall they played really well throughout the game and were fun to watch. Definitely, a group to keep an eye on, at least until Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt are back.
This afternoon’s game can be found on MSG+ at 1:00 PM EST.