Two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference are set to meet on New Year’s Day at the Prudential Center. The Carolina Hurricanes (24-6-6) are quickly approaching the Boston Bruins for the best record in the NHL. Meanwhile, despite a victory last time out, the New Jersey Devils (23-11-2) are still trying to find sustained success again.
Overview
The Devils are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games. Though, they did win their last time out in bizarre fashion against a strong Pittsburgh Penguins team. Hopefully that is a sign for things to come. The Devils are still without Ryan Graves and John Marino, as well as Ondrej Palat, who has been practicing and traveling with the team. Vitek Vanecek struggled mightily last time against the Hurricanes, so it will be interesting to see who head coach Lindy Ruff goes with in net between either he or the struggling Mackenzie Blackwood.
The Hurricanes are whatever the extreme opposite of the Devils are right now. They have tallied at least a point in 16-straight games (14-0-2) dating back to November 25. They have also won 10 in a row. Carolina has extremely balanced scoring as four players have at least 26 points and nine have at least 15. In net, they are led by terrific rookie Pyotr Kochetkov (.928 save percentage and 11.27 goals saved above expected).
Projected Lines
Devils –
Forwards:
Tomas Tatar – Nico Hischier – Jesper Bratt
Erik Haula – Jack Hughes – Dawson Mercer
Yegor Sharangovich – Jesper Boqvist – Alexander Holtz
Miles Wood – Michael McLeod – Fabian Zetterlund
Defensemen:
Jonas Siegenthaler – Dougie Hamilton
Kevin Bahl – Damon Severson
Nikita Okhotiuk – Brendan Smith
Goaltenders:
Vanecek
Blackwood
Hurricanes –
Forwards:
Andrei Svechnikov – Paul Stastny – Martin Necas
Teuvo Teravainen – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Jordan Martinook – Jordan Staal – Jesper Fast
Stefan Noesen – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Derek Stepan
Defensemen:
Jaccob Slavin – Brent Burns
Brady Skjei – Brett Pesce
Calvin de Haan – Jalen Chatfield
Goalies:
Pyotr Kochetkov
Antti Raanta
Game Notes
Play At Five-On-Five
For the longest time this season, the New Jersey Devils were the league leaders in every single five-on-five metric. When they finally were overcome in the rankings in these areas, it was the Carolina Hurricanes that were the culprits. The Hurricanes are winning all their games not because of goaltender magic or puck luck, but they have been playing like truly the best team in the NHL.
They lead the league in Corsi-for percentage, expected goals-for percentage, and scoring-chance differential. Coincidentally enough, the Devils are second in all those categories. This contest features two very strong five-on-five hockey teams.
Lackluster Power Plays
If there is one weakness this Hurricanes team has, it is their power play. It ranks 25th in the NHL, which is worse than the Devils’ 22nd ranked man-advantage unit. Similarly, both the Devils and Hurricanes have strong kills – New Jersey’s ranks fifth while the Hurricanes ninth. Each team would be better off seeing this game played at five-on-five.
Who Gets The Hurricanes’ Top Line?
The Hurricanes own one of the NHL’s best lines in Andrei Svechnikov, Paul Stastny, and Martin Necas. The trio ranks fifth of 125 forward lines that have played at least 75 minutes of five-on-five ice time in expected goals-for percentage (per Money Puck). Usually, head coach Lindy Ruff would go with the Ryan Graves and John Marino pairing against other team’s top lines. Look for either Jonas Siegenthaler or Damon Severson to see a lot of that Carolina trio with that duo still sidelined.
This afternoon’s game is scheduled for a 3:00 P.M. ET puck drop at the Prudential Center. It can be see on MSG SportsNet.