After a perfect Western Canadian road trip, the New Jersey Devils (9-3-0) return home to host the Calgary Flames (5-4-2) tonight. The Devils are riding their first six-game winning streak since the end of the 2011-2012 regular season. Meanwhile, the Flames have lost five straight.
This is the second half of a rare home-and-home with a Western Conference foe after New Jersey defeated Calgary 4-3 in overtime north of the border Saturday night.
Match Overview
Following just the second sweep of the Western Canadian road trip in team history, the Devils continue to sit atop the Metropolitan Division.
With Mackenzie Blackwood spraining his MCL in Edmonton, Vitek Vanecek will continue to get the nod in net. Vanecek is 5-1-0 on the season with a .908 save percentage. The Czech goaltender has saved 0.17 goals above expected (GSAx) on the season including 0.37 GSAx in Saturday’s win at Calgary.
As for injuries, New Jersey will be without Ondrej Palat and the aforementioned Blackwood. Palat remains on injured reserve while Blackwood is on the active roster, but out for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, netminder Jonathan Bernier was once again skating at practice, but remains on long-term injured reserve.
On the other hand, the Flames are limping into tonight’s contest. Calgary has dropped five straight including back-to-back overtime losses. The Flames let a 3-1 lead slip away in a 4-3 loss at the Islanders last night.
Jacob Markstrom got the start last night, so Dan Vladar is likely to get the second half of the back-to-back tonight. For the year, Vladar has posted an abysmal .865 save percentage and has allowed 3.32 goals above expected.
Once again, Calgary will be without several defensemen for tonight’s contest. Oliver Kylington remains on injured reserve due to a personal matter. Meanwhile, Michael Stone was injured in Saturday’s loss to the Devils and has been placed on the injured reserve list as well. Dennis Gilbert and Nick DeSimone were both called up ahead of the current road trip.
Chris Tanev remains on the active roster, but has missed three straight games with an upper-body injury. He is doubtful for tonight.
Projected Lines
New Jersey Devils-
Forwards:
Tatar – Hischier – Zetterlund
Haula – Hughes – Bratt
Sharangovich – Mercer – Boqvist
Wood – McLeod – Bastian
Defensemen:
Siegenthaler – Hamilton
Graves – Marino
Smith – Severson
Goaltenders:
Vanecek
Schmid
Calgary Flames-
Forwards:
Huberdeau – Lindholm – Toffoli
Dube – Kadri – Mangiapane
Coleman – Backlund – Lewis
Lucic – Rooney – Ritchie
Defensemen:
Hanifin – Andersson
Zadorov – Weegar
Mackey – DeSimone
Goaltenders:
Vladar
Markstrom
What to Watch For
Damon Severson
Damon Severson struggled mightily in Saturday’s overtime win. A pair of brutal turnovers led to Calgary’s first two goals, and Severson’s underlying metrics weren’t any kinder. At five-on-five, Severson had an xGF% of 39.73%, the second-worst mark on the team.
However, this was the first major hiccup of the season for Severson. For the year, his five-on-five metrics have been solid. The 28-year-old blueliner has a CF% of 62.40 and an xGF% of 65.52, the seventh and tenth-best marks on the Devils respectively. It will be interesting to see if Severson can bounce back in the second half of a home-and-home.
Jack Hughes
While Severson may have struggled, Jack Hughes had a phenomenal effort against Calgary on Saturday. Hughes turned in a 74.19 CF% and a 77.66 xGF% at five-on-five, both of which paced the Devils. The 2019 first-overall pick added two assists as well.
Meanwhile, Hughes is beginning to heat up with four multi-point outings in his past six games after just three points in the six games of the season.
Jonas Siegenthaler
Another Devil who excelled in Calgary was Jonas Siegenthaler. The Swiss defenseman had New Jersey’s fourth-best CF% at five-on-five at 58.82 and the second-best xGF% at a stellar 75.84.
For the season, Siegenthaler and his defense partner Dougie Hamilton have been the Devils’ best regular d-pair in terms of xGF%. Hamilton leads the defense with a 65.94 xGF% with Siegenthaler just behind at 65.84. After the pair turned in another strong performance Saturday, they will look to replicate it on home ice.
Where to Watch
The Devils and Flames can be seen on MSG Sportsnet. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. ET at the Prudential Center.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.