After a 6-4 win over the Stars, the New Jersey Devils (36-32-2, 7th Metropolitan) will continue their road trip against the Nashville Predators (34-28-9, 5th Central) at Bridgestone Arena Thursday night.
Overview
The Predators and Devils have had somewhat similar seasons, but are in vastly different positions in their conferences. The Devils have been hot as of late, with a 7-3-0 record in their last ten games. They’ve found a scoring touch they’d been missing all season, scoring four or more goals in four of their last five games. Despite this, New Jersey finds themselves all but out of the playoff race, 11 points out of the final wild card with 12 games to play. Their goal for the remainder of the season is to finish with a good taste in their mouths.
Nashville, with just three more points than the Devils with 77, is in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race. They’re three points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings and are primed to battle for their spot down to the wire. Nashville has had a roller coaster of a season, but has also been hot recently with a 7-2-1 record over their last ten games. Nashville may be in a similar spot to New Jersey, but they’re fighting for much more than them.
The Devils beat the Predators 3-2 in their last game on January 29.
Lines and Pairings
Devils-
Forwards
Meier-Hischier-Mercer
Bratt-Hughes-Brown
Gritsyuk-Glass-Hameenaho
Cotter-Bjugstad-Tsyplikov
Defense
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Hughes-Kovacevic
Dillion-Nemec
Goalies
Markstrom
Allen
Predators-
Forwards
Stamkos-O’Reilly-Evangelista
Forsberg-Wood-Marchessault
L’Heureux-Haula-Jost
Schaefer-Svechkov-Kemell
Defense
Skjei-Josi
Hague-Wilsby
Perbix-Ufko
Goalies
Saros
Annunen
Keys to the Game
Jack Hughes on a Tear
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Jack Hughes is the driver of the Devils’ high-octane offense recently. Hughes has been soaring since he won Olympic gold for the United States, with eight goals and 21 points in 13 games since returning from Milan.
Hughes had another good game against Dallas with two goals, the second of which came off a stretch pass from his brother Luke. It’s no secret that the Devils live and die with Jack Hughes, and they’re both living it up right now.
Long Road Trip
The Devils have played well on this road trip, but fatigue is sure to set in on such a lengthy trip. They’re three games in with two to go. They’ll head to Carolina to play the Hurricanes on Saturday. With slim playoff chances, the Devils are under less pressure Thursday, which should help them keep sharp mentally. They’ll hope to use that to play spoiler against a tense Nashville squad.
Where to Watch
Tonight’s game can be seen on MSGSN2 at 8:00 pm ET.