The New Jersey Devils (37-14-5) host the Montreal Canadiens (23-29-4) tonight. The Devils are coming off a sweep of a back-to-back against Pittsburgh and Winnipeg on Saturday and Sunday. Meanwhile, Montreal has lost two straight, last skating in a 5-1 loss in Toronto on Saturday.

This is the second meeting of the year after the Devils won 5-1 in Montreal in November.

Match Overview

For New Jersey, it was a very successful weekend with four points secured in the standings. In those wins, the Devils controlled the play in a way they haven’t in several weeks. Against Pittsburgh, the Devils had a 63.00 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) share at five-on-five. Then, against Winnipeg, they had only a 44.00 xGF thanks to a third period flurry from the Jets who chased an equalizer. The Devils did have over 53.00 of the xGF% in the first two periods of that contest.

Nico Hischier led the way with five points over the weekend, including a four-point night in Pittsburgh. For the season, Hischier is up to 52 points in 55 games. Only Dougie Hamilton, Jesper Bratt, and of course, Jack Hughes, have more for New Jersey this season.

Vitek Vanecek is expected to be back in net tonight after defeating Pittsburgh on Saturday. Vanecek has been stellar in his first season with the Devils to the tune of a .917 save percentage and a 13.54 goals saved above expected (GSAx).

As for Montreal, the Canadiens are a team decimated by injuries at the moment. Lineup regulars Brendan Gallagher, Cole Caulfield, Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj, Jake Evans, and 2022 first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovski are all on injured reserve. Per Arpon Basu of The Athletic, Kirby Dach, who has had a solid bounce-back year, also did not travel with the team while Sean Monahan is questionable for tonight. As a result, Nick Suzuki is the only active Canadien to eclipse the 25-point plateau with 42 in 56 games to lead the team.

Meanwhile, in goal, Montreal head coach Martin St. Louis announced on Monday that Sam Montembault would get the start tonight. For the season, Montembault has a .906 save percentage and a 9.67 GSAx.

Projected Lines

New Jersey Devils –

Forwards:

Tatar – Hischier – Mercer

Sharangovich – Hughes – Bratt

Palat – Haula – Zetterlund

Wood – McLeod – Boqvist

Defensemen:

Smith – Hamilton

Graves – Marino

Siegenthaler – Severson

Goaltenders:

Vanecek

Blackwood

Montreal Canadiens –

Forwards:

Harvey-Pinard – Suzuki – Anderson

Drouin – Dvorak – Armia

Hoffman – Belzile – Dadonov

Pezzetta – Pitlick – Ylonen

Defensemen:

Harris – Savard

Matheson – Barron

Schueneman – Kovacevic

Goaltenders:

Montembeault

Allen

What to Watch For

Dawson Mercer and The Top Line

Dawson Mercer has been on a tremendous run of form lately, scoring four goals in his last three games. Those goals have come at pivotal moments in games as well. Three of the four have tied the game within 90 seconds of the Devils falling behind with the fourth being an empty-netter to seal the win vs. Winnipeg.

On top of that, Mercer has found chemistry with his new linemates. After Jack Hughes returned to the lineup Saturday, Mercer was promoted to the top line alongside Nico Hischier and Tomas Tatar. Against Pittsburgh, the trio had a 62.00 xGF%. Then, when playing together at five-on-five while against Winnipeg, their xGF% was a superb 80.00. High-danger chances were 5-1 in favor of New Jersey with the Hischier line on the ice against the Jets as well.

Expect more dominant play tonight against a Montreal team that is 29th in the league with a 44.00 team xGF% at five-on-five.

Jack Hughes’ Line

While the Devils’ top line did a great job at creating and preventing high-danger chances, the Devils second line of Yegor Sharangovich, Jack Hughes, and Jesper Bratt struggled in that department Sunday. The trio managed just 25.00 xGF% at five-on-five against the Jets and trailed 6-2 in high-danger chances. None of the three registered a point in the win, snapping Hughes’ 10-game point streak in the process.

What is interesting is that it came one night after this line dominated in Pittsburgh. The Hughes’ line had a tremendous 83.00 xGF% at five-on-five against the Penguins. Some of that inconsistency may be due to Hughes needing some time to settle back in after his injury. 

Regardless, expect this trio to bounce back tonight as not only does Montreal struggle at five-on-five, but Jack Hughes has not been held without a point in back-to-back games since October 22 and 24.

Special Teams Advantage

The Devils have a noticeable advantage on special teams tonight to go with their five-on-five advantage, as noted above. Montreal is 29th in the league with a 16.9% power play and 28th in the league with a 73.7% penalty kill.

For their part, the Devils have a 20.9% power play (19th in the league) and a 80.9% penalty kill (13th in the league). Meanwhile, the Devils have been playing well on special teams of late. Over the weekend, the penalty kill went 7-for-8 and added a Nico Hischier short-handed tally. Though, while the power play was a disappointing 0-for-2 on Sunday, but did connect for a Dougie Hamilton goal in Pittsburgh.

Where to Watch

MSGSN will have coverage of the Devils and Canadiens with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.

Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.