Saturday, the New Jersey Devils look to grab their second straight win against the red-hot Ottawa Senators.
The Devils are currently 28-24-2 after defeating the Nashville Predators on Wednesday. The Senators are 25-21-7, they defeated the Colorado Avalanche in a 5-2 on Wednesday.
Match Overview
The Devils are in a point of their season where every game is must win. This game against the Ottawa Senators is no different. The Senators have only won two games in a row, but those two games were won against two top Western Conference teams in the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights by a final combined score of 12-3. The Ottawa Senators offense has been solid all year as they hold the ninth-best goals per game played (GF/GP) at 3.32 and 10th-best power play percentage (PP%) at 22.4%.
If the Devils want to take this one they’re almost definitely going to need to score more than their 2.61 GF/GP that they’re averaging this season. Luckily for New Jersey, the Senators hold the worst team save percentage (SV%) in the entire league at an abysmal 0.867. No matter who’s in net this should be a great opportunity for the Devils to get their scoring touch back.
Lines and Pairings
Devils
With multiple injuries to the Devils forward group including Jack Hughes, there is uncertainty on what the team will look like. Check our socials before puck drop for accurate lines.
Senators
Forwards
Batherson-Stutzle-Giroux
Tkachuk-Cozens-Greig
Cousins-Pinto-Amadio
Bourgault-Eller-Zetterlund
Defense
Sanderson-Zub
Chabot-Jensen
Kleven-Spence
Goalies
Ullmark
Reimer
Keys to the Game
Ottawa’s Been Friendly
While the Devils have struggled mightily in some arenas such as Carolina or Tampa, the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa has been a great place for the Devils in recent history. The team has won five straight games against the Senators in Ottawa dating back to the 2022-23 season. In those five games the Devils have a plus-12 goal differential.
Not Getting to Overtime
As of January 31, the Devils are dead last in the NHL in overtime/shootout losses (OTL). This means two things; first is that they are quite good when getting to the extra frame. The Devils are 10-2 in games that don’t end in regulation which equates to an .833 win percentage, good enough for best in the NHL.
However, being last in OTLs also means the Devils aren’t getting close games to overtime. The chart shown above represents each team’s total points percentage (P%) vs their P% in just one goal losses. The red dot represents the Devils who own the second worst P% in one goal losses in the NHL with an incredibly unremarkable .222.
If the Devils could have been a little more clutch and pushed even just two or three more games that they lost in regulation to overtime they would be in a much better spot. Hopefully the back-half of the season brings better fortunes in that regard.
Where to Watch:
Puck drop for Saturday’s game is set for 7:00 pm ET and can be found on MSG.