Taylor Hall and the Devils will look to rebound as they get set to host their rivals from across the river this evening at the Prudential Center (Photo by Jared Silber/Getty Images).
Match Overview
Despite playing one of their best games of the season, the Devils came up short on Tuesday night. They’ll look to rebound as they get set to host the New York Rangers in a rivalry match this evening. The Rangers come into this game with an 8-1-1 record in their last ten games and are fighting to stay in a top three spot in the Metropolitan Division. With the Devils still struggling at Prudential Center, they’ll have their hands full with one of the best road teams in the league. The Rangers come into tonight’s matchup with a 20-8-0 record on the road. New Jersey will have to play with the same intensity they did against Ottawa on Tuesday night to make life difficult for New York tonight.
Projected Lines
New York
Vesey/Stepan/Nash
Krieder/Zibanejad/Zuccarello
Grabner/Hayes/Miller
Lindberg/Pirri/Fast
McDonagh/Girardi
Staal/Holden
Skjei/Klein
Raanta
New Jersey
Hall/Zajac/Palmieri
Bennett/Henrique/Parenteau
Cammalleri/Josefson/Noesen
Wood/Blandisi/Smith-Pelly
Greene/Lovejoy
Quincey/Severson
Merrill/Santini
Schneider
What to Watch
- The Hall/Zajac/Palmieri line has been as close to dominant as it gets over the last few weeks. They have a 56.9% possession line and are averaging 62.9 shot attempts per 60 as opposed to 47.7 shot attempts against per 60. New Jersey will need this line to continue its dominance against a Rangers team that does give up a fair amount of shots if they want to have a chance at pulling off the upset.
- Despite not being a shot generating machine, the Rangers have the second most high danger chances in the league at 592 (via Natural Stat Trick). The Devils will need to play a sound defensive game because when New York gets their chances, they usually convert on them. If New Jersey plays the way they did against Ottawa on Tuesday night, it’ll go a long way in helping slow down an opportunistic Rangers team.
- If there was a time for Mike Cammalleri to break out of his scoring drought, it would be tonight. He won’t have to face Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers do give up the second most high danger chances against in the league with 566 (via Natural Stat Trick). Even in a third line role, look for him to get some scoring opportunities and hopefully put an end to what’s been a nightmare drought for him.
- With the trade deadline approaching fast and the Devils likely to be sellers, it’s all the more important that they get good performances from players such as P.A. Parenteau and Kyle Quincey. With it appearing to be a sellers market, the Devils could be in a good position to get a good return on both players. A good game against one of the top teams in the league tonight could help Ray Shero squeeze out the most he can out of two players he managed to grab for almost the bare minimum.
Tonight’s game can be seen on MSG+ at 5PM.