Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Tuesday, the New Jersey Devils (9-5-0) head back home to take on the red-hot Edmonton Oilers (11-2-2).
Game Overview
The Devils come home Tuesday following a very successful trip out west. They went 2-1-0 against three of the best teams in the Western Conference while maintaining their dominant style of play.
Against Vegas and Dallas, they limited their opponents’ scoring opportunities while converting when given the chance. Connor Hellebuyck also made his first two starts with the Devils on the trip and went 2-0-0 while stopping 36 of 39 shots. The Devils will look to turn back to him to try to stop this dominant Oilers offense.
Edmonton comes into New Jersey as winners of its last three games. Behind Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard, the Oilers sit second in the entire NHL and first in the Western Conference. The goaltending tandem of Tristan Jarry and Devon Levi (who is now injured) hasn’t been great, but it’s been good enough to keep the Oilers ahead in most of their games.
Lines and Pairings
Devils
Forwards
Meier-Hischier-Evangelista
Gritsyuk-Hughes-Bratt
Mantha-Rodrigues-Boqvist
Lombardi-Glass-Brown
Defense
Hughes-Pesce
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Chisholm-Kovacevic
Goalies
Hellebuyck
Allen
Oilers
Forwards
Podkolzin-McDavid-Draisaitl
Dach-Nugent-Hopkins-Kapanen
Formenton-Dickinson-Joseph
Frederic-Michaels-Hallander
Defense
Ekholm-Bouchard
Shea-Murphy
Mukhamadullin-Emberson
Goalies
Jarry
Tomkins
Keys to the Game
Stop McDavid
Right now, there is no player in the entire world who is as good as Connor McDavid. The superstar is playing at a level beyond expectations, even for him.
The former first overall pick is now up to 39 points in his first 15 games. Those 39 points are the sixth-most in NHL history by a player in his first 15 games. If McDavid keeps up this pace, he’ll finish with 213 points, landing him second on the single-season points list. With how good he’s been so far, it’s fair to say the Devils will have their hands full with him Tuesday night.
Get the Power Play Going
This Devils team doesn’t have a lot of problems right now. However, the one thing that might be holding them back is their power play.
The Devils’ power play sits at 16.7% currently and continues to trend down. After going 0-for-2 on the power play in Vegas, New Jersey is now 1-for-13 on the power play over its last six games.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe has seen enough to make some changes. He has decided to move Connor Brown to the first unit while shifting Luke Evangelista down to the second unit. Against an Oilers power play that sits fourth in the NHL, New Jersey will have to find some success on theirs to keep up.
How to Watch
Tuesday’s puck drop is at 7:30 pm ET, and the game can be found on ESPN+.