Match Overview
After a demoralizing loss to the Minnesota Wild last night, the New Jersey Devils will head to Winnipeg and look to dig themselves out of their appalling losing streak. New Jersey has had a terrible stretch of play recently, going 1-4-0 since their comeback win against the Lightning. The causes? A mixture of inconsistency, goaltending troubles, an atrocious power play, and bad line construction by head coach Lindy Ruff.
Meanwhile, the stagnating Winnipeg Jets would very much appreciate a win against what seems to be an easy target to get something going after winning their last two. Both teams have everything to gain from a win tomorrow, so it will be sure to be a battle all the way through.
With their loss to Minnesota, the Devils have dropped to a record of 9-8-4, good for sixth in the Metropolitan Division. The Jets are in sixth place in the Central Division with a record of 10-8-4.
Lines and Pairings
Devils’ Lines
Check out our social media pages closer to puck drop for more information.
Jets’ Lines
Forwards
Connor-Sheifele-Wheeler
Copp-Dubois-Svechnikov
Stasny-Lowry-Ehlers
Harkins-Toninato-Vesalainen
Defense
Morrissey-Schmidt
Dillon-Pionk
Stanley-Demelo
Goalies
Hellebuyck
Comrie
What to Watch
Line Shake-Up
It’s no secret that Lindy Ruff has been butchering the lines as of late, and extra-hard practices won’t fix that. Specifically, the line of Pavel Zacha, Nico Hischier, and Jack Hughes was a complete disaster yesterday, with an abysmal Corsi-for percentage (CF%) of 25.00 and an expected-goals percentage (xGF%) of just 22.68.
Much of this issue can be attributed to playing Hughes on the wing instead of his natural position of center. Let’s face it, just watching Hughes on the ice is enough indication that he’s back to his normal self, meaning Ruff shouldn’t be afraid to play him as a center. Coach Ruff has had a myriad of issues this season, but if he stops overthinking his lines, it would do the team a lot of good.
Tomas Tatar
Although he started the season struggling to put up points, free-agent acquisition Tomas Tatar has certainly been carrying his weight recently. In the past seven games, he has notched five points, a far cry from his slow start in October. Tatar won’t drag the Devils out of their slump by himself, but it would certainly be helpful to have his scoring ability in Winnipeg.
My Prediction
The Devils are coming into the second game of a back-to-back, and they are not at all in the right headspace, so I predict another brutal loss of 5-1.