Overview
After losing their first two games back from the Olympic break, the New Jersey Devils (28-29-2, 7th Metropolitan) will take on the St. Louis Blues (21-28-9, 8th Central) at Enterprise Center today.
New Jersey has returned to their old, frustrating selves despite strong Olympic performances from many of its players. They were outscored 6-2 by the Sabres and Penguins this week, marking five consecutive games without scoring more than one goal. If there was any hope that the long break would give the Devils a spark, it’s gone now. They’ll have to find that spark against a basement-dwelling St. Louis squad.
The Blues have had it worse than the Devils this season, but came out of the Olympic break with a commanding 5-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. Dylan Holloway led the way with a hat-trick, with Pius Suter adding a goal and an assist. Jordan Binnington will look to make a strong return to action after a solid performance for Team Canada. St. Louis has the perfect opportunity to get hot against a struggling Devils’ team today.
Notably, defenseman Luke Hughes is expected to be activated off the long-term injured reserve. It remains to be seen who will come out of the lineup.
Lines and Pairings
Devils-
Forwards
Meier-Hischier-Mercer
Bratt-Hughes-Brown
Gritsyuk-Glass-Hameenaho
Cotter-Bjustad-Tsyplakov
Defense
Pesce-Kovacevic
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Dillion-Nemec
Goalies
Markstrom
Allen
Blues-
Forwards
Schenn-Dvorsky-Snuggerud
Neighbours-Buchnevich-Kyoru
Holloway-Suter-Berggren
Toropchenko-Finley-Walker
Defense
Broberg-Parayko
Tucker-Faulk
Fowler-Mailloux
Goalies
Binnington*
Hofer
*Binnington on non-roster list for non-injury related reasons as of Thursday
Keys to the Game
Will Binnington Play?
Goaltender Jordan Binnington was not in the net for St. Louis’ return on Thursday for undisclosed, but non-injury related reasons. Joel Hofer filled in for him and did an admirable job, stopping 23 of 24 shots en route to a .958 save percentage.
Binnington has had a rough season, posting an .866 save percentage and -20.61 goals saved above expected, but he had a strong Olympics for Canada, with a .921 save percentage throughout the tournament. While Binnington hasn’t been up to form in the NHL this season, the Blues will be eager to see if he can carry his Olympic form back to the team.
Devils Have to Finish Chances
It’s the same old story for New Jersey: plenty of scoring chances, not enough finding the back of the net. They managed to get 30 shots on goal in Pittsburgh, but only converted one into a goal. Against Buffalo, they notched 28 shots and only scored once. That’s an abysmal 3.4 shooting percentage. They have the worst shooting percentage in the league by far at 6.65%.
The frustrating thing about that is that they have plenty of offensive talent. While Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Nico Hischier may not have the top shots in the league, they are elite playmakers who have the ability to get open in high-danger areas of the ice. Timo Meier, who you expect to be finishing chances, only has 15 goals this year.
Whether it’s pure underperformance, predictability due to the system Sheldon Keefe runs, or a combination of the two, the Devils have to find a way to put pucks in the back of the net. If the current trend continues, Binnington or Hofer will have a legacy game against New Jersey Saturday evening.
Where to Watch
Today’s game can be seen on MSG at 5:00 pm ET.