After a nail-biting 2-1 victory over the Utah Mammoth on Friday, the New Jersey Devils (20-14-1, 4th Metropolitan) will return home to take on the Buffalo Sabres (16-14-4, 8th Atlantic) at the Prudential Center Sunday night.
Overview
The Devils appear to have found their footing over the past few games. They’ve won three of their last four, with their last two coming against competitive Western Conference teams in the Golden Knights and the Mammoth. Both those wins came with strong goaltending efforts from Jake Allen and Jacob Markström, respectively. They’ve made up for the Devils’ recent inability to finish their chances and tendency to allow high-danger chances.
The Sabres are coming off a 3-2 shootout win to the Islanders last night. They’ve been playing strong hockey as of late, with a five-game winning streak coming into Sunday. Behind the scenes, however, Buffalo is in the midst of a major regime change.
Owner Terry Pegula fired general manager Kevyn Adams and promoted Jarmo Kekalainen to the top job. Kekalainen acted quickly to fire assistant general manager Jason Karmanos yesterday. The Sabres will look to continue their recent run of form as the front office shifts.
Lines and Pairings
Devils-
Forwards
Bratt-Hischier-Meier
Palat-Glass-Mercer
Cotter-Lammikko-Noesen
Parent-Glendening-Brown
Defense
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Hughes-Pesce
Dillion-White
Goalies
Markstrom
Allen
Sabres-
Forwards
Krebs-Thompson-Doan
Ostlund-Norris-Tuch
Benson-McLeod-Quinn
Dunne-Malenstyn-Greenway
Defense
Dahlin-Samuelsson
Power-Kesselring
Byram-Metsa
Goalies
Lyon
Luukkonen
Keys to the Game
Good Injury News
The Devils have received some positive news on a few of their injured and absent players over the past couple of days. Timo Meier is set to return for his first game since December 9 after taking a leave of absence for personal reasons. He’ll provide an instant boost to a forward group that had been running on fumes. Taking the pressure off Nico Hischier, Dawson Mercer, and Jesper Bratt will allow them to play at a higher clip deeper into the game, while the second line gets a boost from either Mercer or Meier.
Jack Hughes isn’t too far off either. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported that Hughes will likely return in December, giving the Devils their superstar back ahead of schedule and at a critical point in the season.
Devils Finally Get Goaltending
The Devils’ goaltenders, especially Jacob Markström, have failed them when they’ve needed them most over the last month. Between when Hughes got hurt on November 12 and their game against Anaheim on December 13, Markstroöm and Allen combined for -1.65 goals saved above expected and earned .878 and .888 save percentages, respectively. Since then, they’ve played two games each, with Markstrom earning a .936 SV% and 2.38 GSAx while Allen has accrued a .970 SV% and 6.02 GSAx. With more reinforcements arriving with each game, the Devils’ goaltending tandem has found its form at the right moment.
Where to Watch
Sunday night’s game can be seen on MSGSN at 7:00 pm ET.