After a strong start to their Western road trip against Calgary Monday night, the New Jersey Devils (25-22-2, 6th Metropolitian) will face the Edmonton Oilers (25-17-8, 2nd Pacific) at Rogers Place Tuesday.
Overview
The Devils have been volatile both on and off the ice over the past few weeks. They seemed to emerge from a four-game losing streak with wins against Minnesota and Seattle, but fell apart against Carolina on Saturday. Injuries, illness, and trade rumors have plagued the lineup over this stretch.
With the return of Johnathan Kovasevic from injured reserve, head coach Sheldon Keefe has had to scratch a quality defenseman each game. However, this may get a little easier to manage with the reported long-term injury suffered by Luke Hughes on Monday. The forwards haven’t been immune to this volatility either. Ondrej Palat missed time with illness recently, while Stefan Noesen’s injury led to a very strong Lenni Hameenaho’s NHL debut Monday night. New Jersey will look for some stability amidst a long road trip tonight.
The Oilers are in a strong position to take advantage of the Devils’ disorientation. Coming off dominant wins against the Canucks and Blues over the weekend, Edmonton sits in a competitive fifth place in the Western Conference and has moved past their poor start to the season. While Tristan Jarry, acquired from the Penguins earlier this season, has been inconsistent, he got a well-earned shutout against Vancouver on Saturday. It came at a cost, however, as Kasperi Kapanen exited the game after returning from a three-month injury absence at the start of the month. The Oilers will look to harness the momentum that has brought them a 5-1-2 record over their last eight games tonight.
Another notable absence for Edmonton is superstar forward Leon Draisaitl. He is away from the team due to family illness. We wish him all the best.
Lines and Pairings
Devils
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Oilers
Forward
Podkolzin – McDavid – Hyman
Frederic – Nugent-Hopkins – Savoie
Howard – Roslovic – Janmark
Mangiapane – Lazar
Defensemen
Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Emberson
Walman – Stastney
Regula
Goalies
Jarry
Ingram
Keys to the Game
Defensive Equation A Little Simplier?
The Devils have been forced to make tough decisions on who to scratch on defense recently. Dougie Hamilton, Simon Nemec, and Johnathan Kovacevic have all missed games to make room for the other guys. Hamilton’s absences have led to rumors about his trade market, spurred on by his agent. Nemec and Kovasevic have both ridden the pine due to inconsistency and to ease them back from injuries.
However, and due to unfortunate reasons, it appears head coach Sheldon Keefe’s job may have gotten a bit easier. Defenseman Luke Hughes left Monday night’s game early and did not return. After the game, Frank Seravalli reported that Hughes may have dislocated his shoulder. Head coach Sheldon Keefe, himself, indicated after the game that Hughes will be missing some time.
This comes at an extremely unfortunate time for Luke, as he really started to put it together over the last few weeks. However, if the injury is indeed long term, it will be interesting to see the long-term injured reserve implications as well as will likely results in the team keeping around Dougie Hamilton, who has been playing superb hockey all season long.
Oilers Have Fresh Legs
On top of the fatigue the Devils already have to deal with, this is the second game in a back-to-back for them. The Oilers, on the other hand, haven’t played since Sunday. That, combined with home-ice advantage in a tough barn for road teams to play in, gives Edmonton big advantages over the Devils. New Jersey will have a hill to climb even before they step onto the ice tonight.
Where to Watch
Tonight’s game can be seen at 10:00 pm ET on TNT.