After another 4-3 loss to the formerly league-worst Winnipeg Jets Sunday, the New Jersey Devils (22-21-2, 6th Metropolitan) will take on the Minnesota Wild (26-11-9, 3rd Central) at Grand Casino Arena Monday night.
Overview
The Devils have been in a complete free fall, with a 2-7-1 record in their last 10games and four straight losses coming into Monday night’s game. Their 9-0 loss to the New York Islanders last Tuesday felt like a tipping point for New Jersey. They had an opportunity to stop the bleeding against Winnipeg, but surrendered two leads to add another loss to their record. While the Devils have shown flashes of their potential over this stretch, this is clearly a team out of answers. Still, they’ll have more tough questions to answer if they can’t secure a win against a strong Minnesota team.
The Wild have battled through some tough games as of late, most recently a 4-3 overtime loss to the Islanders on Saturday. Despite this, the Wild are still in a very strong position. With talent like Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Quinn Hughes leading a club with strong depth, Minnesota is in a highly competitive spot in the Western Conference. They’re in a neck-and-neck battle with Dallas in the Central Division, and with Colorado way out front and with everyone else way behind, these teams will be battling for second place the rest of the way. The Wild will look to pull ahead with a winnable game.
Lines and Pairings
Devils-
Forwards
Hughes-Hischier-Bratt
Meier-Mercer-Dadonov
Gritsyuk-Glass-Brown
Palat-Glendening-Cotter
Defense
Hughes-Pesce
Siegenthaler-Kovacevic
Dillion-Nemec
Goalies
Allen
Markstrom
Wild-
Forwards
Kaprizov-Yurov-Zuccarello
Johansson-Hartman-Boldy
Foligno-Strum-Tarasenko
Trenin-Jones-Hinostroza
Defense
Hughes-Faber
Brodin-Spurgeon
Middleton-Hunt
Goalies
Gustavsson
Wallstedt
Keys to the Game
The Great Wall of Minnesota
No matter who gets the nod in net, the Wild will have a strong goalie in the crease tonight. Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt have proven to be one of, if not the best, goalie tandems in the NHL this year. They have .910 and .925 save percentages, respectively, and have combined for 31.31 goals saved above expected. The big story has been Wallstedt, who has stepped into a high-leverage role as a rookie. The Devils will have their work cut out for them, whether it’s Gustavsson or Wallstedt.
Devils’ Brass on the Hot Seat
There has been no movement on head coach Sheldon Keefe or general manager Tom Fitzgerald’s jobs amidst this free fall, but there are only so many losses the Devils can take before calls for their jobs get too loud to ignore. Keefe might be the first to go. It isn’t clear if the locker room is in complete mutiny, but something is clearly wrong, at least that’s what former Devils’ captain Bryce Salvador thinks. “Something’s just not right with this team,” Salvador wrote after the loss to the Islanders, “I don’t know what it is, because I’m not in the locker room, but what I’m seeing on the ice is that something is very wrong.”
Fitzgerald also finds himself in a precarious situation. It’s clear that, even when fully healthy, the Devils’ roster is weaker than anticipated. What’s worse, they’re in a brutal cap crunch. Stefan Noesen going on injured reserve actually served as a blessing because it gave the returning Johnathan Kovacevic and Evgenii Dadonov spots in the lineup. The Dougie Hamilton situation is the crown jewel in this fiasco. His cap hit and no-movement clause have proven to be an albatross, and Sheldon Keefe has scratched him in recent games, probably as a way to smoke him out.
Elliotte Friedman traces Hamilton’s predicament back to his failure to trade for Quinn Hughes. “It’s very clear to me that the whole Quinn Hughes situation just damaged their internal workings,” Friedman said on 32 Thoughts. “Business got out, no trade clauses used, things like that. And I don’t know how you fix that.”
Keefe and Fitzgerald’s job security won’t be the deciding factor in tonight’s game, but tonight’s game may be the deciding factor on how long they keep their jobs.
Where to Watch
Tonight’s game can be seen on MSGSN at 8:00 pm ET.