Tuesday, the New Jersey Devils look to keep things rolling as they hit the road to face the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Devils are currently 13-4-1 after defeating the Washington Capitals Saturday night in the shootout. The Lightning are currently 9-7-2. They lost 6-2 to the Vancouver Canucks Sunday.
Match Overview
The Devils are getting a little bit healthier Tuesday night, as Connor Brown and Dougie Hamilton appear ready to return to the lineup. As well, Evgenii Dadonov returned to practice Monday for the first time since suffering a hand injury in the first game of the season, and will travel with the team on the second leg of their road trip.
The Lightning are another team that has had a ton of major injuries. In their loss Sunday night, Nick Paul, Anthony Cirelli, Ryan McDonagh, Victor Hedman, and Pontus Holmberg were all out. Overall though, the Lightning have been hot. After starting the season 1-4-2, they’ve since gone 8-3-0.
Lines and Pairings
Devils
Forwards
Gritsyuk-Hischier-Bratt
Meier-Mercer-Brown
Palat-Lammikko-Noesen
Cotter-Glendening-Lachance
Defense
Dillon-Hughes
Siegenthaler-Nemec
Cholowski-Hamilton
Goalies
Markstrom
Allen
Lightning
Forwards
Goncalves-Point-Kucherov
Hagel-Cirelli-Guentzel
Gourde-Paul-Bjorkstrand
Douglas-Finley-James
Defense
Hedman-Moser
D’Astous-Cernak
Lilleberg-Crozier
Goalies
Vasilevskiy
Johansson
Keys to the Game
Edwards Debut?
Ethan Edwards has a chance to make his NHL debut on this road trip. He joined the team following a potential Brenden Dillon injury and practiced in Dillon’s spot on Monday. Although the veteran defenseman did join the team on the trip, there is no guarantee he plays Tuesday night. If he doesn’t Ethan Edwards would be in line to play his first game. Edwards has five points in 13 AHL games this season after scoring 21 in 36 games at Michigan last year.
Top of the East
Despite all the Devils; injury issues, they’ve continued to win. Over the team’s last five games they’re 4-0-1, with all five games having gone to extra time. This is the team’s fourth best start to a season through 18 games ever, having won 13. The team won 14 of their first 18 games in 1993-94 and 2009-10, and 15 of their first 18 in their incredible 2022-23 season.
Where to Watch
Puck drop for Tuesdaygame is set for 7:00 pm ET and can be found on MSG SportsNet.