The Devils lost to Ottawa just four days ago 3-0. –Getty Images
Match Overview
The Devils are coming off a disappointing 6-4 defeat at the hands of division foe-New York Islanders. Right when New Jersey found themselves in a prime position to make a run to the play-offs they now find themselves 6-points back from the final wild-card spot in the East. If they want to somehow wiggle their way back into contention they must get the win tonight. Devils will be facing a team that currently resides two-points behind the Montréal Canadians for first place in the Atlantic Division. The Devils, like the Senators, will look a little different than they did when they played Ottawa last. Michael Cammalleri will draw back in for Beau Bennett and John Moore will be a healthy scratch in favor for Kyle Quincey who is returning from injury. Another interesting note on the Devils side of things is that the Zacha-JJ-Noesen line will be split up.
On the Senators side of things, this will be a very much different than what they were on February 17th. It is reported that the Senators will be without star forwards Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman, and Bobby Ryan. Ryan and Hoffman each had a point in the 3-0 defeat of New Jersey. Also, Ottawa will be going with Craig Anderson (14-7-1, 2.40 GAA, .925 Sv%) whom we didn’t see on Thursday. To say the least the Senators will be a much different looking team tonight, something that should benefit the Devils tremendously.
Projected Devil Lines
Hall-Zajac-Palmieri
Zacha-Henrique-Parenteau
Cammalleri-Josefson-Noesen
Wood-Blandisi-Smith-Pelley
Greene-Lovejoy
Merrill-Santini
Quincey-Severson
Schneider (19-17-8, 2.63 GAA, .914 Sv%)
Devils Injury Report
- Defenseman Kyle Quncey was skating in a top-4 role at morning skate. It is reported that he will draw back into the line-up tonight for John Moore after missing time due to an “upper-body” injury.
Michael Cammalleri has been a healthy scratch the past 2 games. –Getty Images
What/Who to Watch
- The Devils were shut-out just four night ago by these Senators. A big reason for it was their inability to gain the offensive zone cleanly. If you watched the game you would’ve noticed the Devils were constantly stood up through the neutral zone resulting in numerous turnovers and dump-and-chase plays. Devils should rely on players such as Taylor Hall, Pavel Zacha, and other good driving forwards to gain the zone cleanly if they want to put some goals up tonight versus Ottawa.
- Containing star-defenseman Erik Karlsson is much needed as he torched the Devils in Thursday night’s game. Karlsson had the goal, which iced the game for the Senators toward the end of the 3rd period and was +20/-10 corsi rating. Karlsson has established himself as one of the NHL’s best offensive defenseman and must be contained if Devils wish to get back to their winning ways.
- Veteran forward Michael Cammalleri is expected to be back in the line-up tonight after being a healthy scratch the past 2 games. He skated alongside Jacob Josefson and Stefan Noesen on what is the Devils third line during morning skate. Cammalleri is ad mist a 19-game goal drought and is having one of the worse seasons of his career. The 35-year old forward is definitely someone worth watching tonight, as it will be interesting to see if his recent benching has any effect on his performance.
- Another player that is expected to check into the line-up after a lengthy absence is defenseman Kyle Quincey. Quincey has missed the past 6-games due to a reported “upper-body” injury. Quincey, who is only on a one-year contract, has been rumored to be on the move come the March 1st It’ll be interesting to see how not only Quincey responds after coming back from injury, but also, how he plays with the idea of a possible trade on his mind.
Today’s game can be seen on MSG+ at 7:00 PM.