Friday, the New Jersey Devils look to bounce back against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Devils are currently 37-33-2 after losing to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. The Blackhawks are 27-33-13, they’ve won just one of their last five games.
Match Overview
The Blackhawks have a much worse record than the Devils, but are also in a much different spot. Chicago is a young, rebuilding team, with some solid pieces. The most promising of those is Connor Bedard who leads the team with 67 points in 60, equaling his career best mark in 22 less matches.
The Blackhawks are dealing with a few minor injuries including veterans Andrew Mangiapane and Matt Grzelcyk, as well as another rookie in Oliver Moore who was one of Chicago’s first round draft choices in 2023.
Lines and Pairings
Devils
Forwards
Meier-Hischier-Mercer
Bratt-Hughes-Brown
Dadonov-Glass-Hameenaho
Cotter-Bjugstad-Tsyplakov
Defense
Hughes-Kovacevic
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Dillon-Nemec
Goalies
Markstrom
Allen
Blackhawks
Forwards
Greene-Bedard-Frondell
Bertuzzi-Nazar-Lardis
Burakovsky-Donato-Mikheyev
Teravainen-Boisvert-Salggert
Defense
Vlasic-Levshunov
Kaiser-Rinzel
Del Mastro-Crevier
Goalies
Knight
Soderblom
Keys to the Game
Welcome Frondell
After spending a full season dominating the Swedish minor leagues in 2024-25, Anton Frondell was selected third overall in the NHL draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. This season, Frondell moved up to the top Swedish league, scoring 20 goals in just 43 games and providing stout defense.
After his team’s season ended he came over to North America where he’s been rock solid for Chicago in three games. He’s assisted on two goals including a nice pass to set up Connor Bedard. Frondell is one of the many bright spots on a young Blackhawks roster.
Dominating the Hawks
Since 2017-18, the first year Chicago missed the playoffs post-dynasty, the Devils have dominated the Blackhawks. In 15 games they are 12-2-1, averaging 4.5 goals per game (G/GP) and 2.9 goals against per game (GA/GP). They are also 11-for-38 on the power play, good for 28.9%.
The Hawks one bright spot has been their power play which has clicked at a rate of nearly 25% (12-for-49) in the 15 games.
Where to Watch:
Puck drop for tonight’s game is set for 7:00 pm ET and can be found on MSG SportsNet as well as NHL Network if you are out of the region.