The New Jersey Devils (27-24-2) continue their homestand. They will continue taking on opponents from the Central Division, as the Nashville Predators (24-23-5) roll into town. This is the first meeting between the two teams this season.
Matchup Overview
The Devils had a strong West Coast trip and managed to win three of the four games. Sadly, a tough loss to the Seattle Kraken spoiled a perfect trip and that spilled over into the first game back home from the trip.
On John MacLean Ring of Honor night, the Devils lost to the Winnipeg Jets. They made it close towards the end, but the result adds to how up-and-down the season has gone. In addition to the loss, New Jersey finally made a move and sent Ondrej Palat to the Islanders in exchange for forward Maxim Tsyplakov.
The Nashville Predators did not get off to the hottest start to the season. By early December, the team sat with a record of 9-13-4 and many wondered if the club would begin to trade off veteran players for assets. Instead, they’ve managed to turn their season around, treading water by being a .500 team by mid-January.
The Predators have lost four of their last five games and sit four points back of a playoff spot. Overall, they have decent puck possession metrics, ranking seventh in Corsi-for percentage (CF%) with 52.17. Also, much like the Devils, their finishing ability during five-on-five play has struggled, with -25.68 goals scored above expected.
Projected Lineups
New Jersey Devils
Check back closer to puck drop for lineups.
Nashville Predators
Forwards
Forsberg-O’Reilly-Evangelista
Bunting-Haula-Stamkos
Smith-McCarron-Marchessault
Wood-Svechkov-Wiesblatt
Defense
Skjei-Josi
Wilsby-Perbix
Blankenburg-Barron
Goalies
Saros
Annunen
What to Watch For
Missing Glass
Unfortunately, Cody Glass left last game against Winnipeg after blocking a shot. His line was the team’s best since the call-up of Lenni Hämeenaho.
The trio has a CF% of 62.16 and is outshooting opponents 25-13. Furthermore, they are smothering opponents in scoring chances (24-9), and are dominant in the high danger areas of the ice. They create turnovers, generate chances, and have capitalized on them (out scoring opponents 4-0).
Losing Glass is a huge blow. It’ll be interesting to see how the line looks going forward.
Dougie Hamilton Point Streak
Dougie Hamilton has been the subject of trade talks. That noise cooled down a bit, especially after seeing Luke Hughes going down with an injury. Hamilton has taken that injury news and it’s fueled his fire.
Hamilton is riding a nine-game point streak (one goal, 10 assists). Furthermore, he’s extended his assists streak to eight games, which matched the longest run in franchise history. Also, he’s had good on ice impacts. At five-on-five, he’s had a CF% of 55.07, an expected goals for percentage of 54.38, and the Devils are out scoring opponents 8-5 with him on the ice. Seeing him continue to shine is huge and the Devils need it.
How to Watch
Thursday night’s puck drop is 7:00 pm ET and can be found on MSG.