Tonight’s starting goaltenders (via Left Wing Lock)- Alex Stalock (Minnesota), Keith Kinkaid (Projected, New Jersey)
The Devils are back in action against the Minnesota Wild tonight at Prudential Center. The Devils currently hang onto the first wild card spot, while Minnesota occupies the second slot in the west.
Who/What to Watch
Taylor Hall… I will not stop putting his name here until his scoring streak is over…but when is that going to be? Hall is currently on a 19-game point streak with an opportunity to hit 20 tonight. New Jersey’s leading scorer is one of (if not THE) the hottest player in the NHL right now with 27 points during this streak. It now becomes a question before every game this team has: Will Taylor Hall extend the streak?
Zach Parise… The age old question of the year now that Parise has once again returned to the Rock. Will he get booed? It is hard to say as he missed a good portion of the season with injuries, but did betray Devils fans and left following the six-game loss in the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals. It is definitely a coin toss but if you ask me, he will still continue to receive boos from the stands.
Low scoring affair… A bold prediction here as both offenses have a lot of talent and two back up goaltenders are in net. I feel they are going to have solid games all around, and this will be yet another exciting contest as these two teams fight to keep their respective playoff hopes alive. There is going to be a lot of back and forth action as usual between these two teams. The last few matchups have all been very close games, but most have favored the Devils. All-time New Jersey is 14-5 vs. Minnesota with two ties.
Prediction
This is a tough prediction as these two teams are basically even. But let’s start with Taylor Hall. I say yes, he will continue his dominance and extend the streak to 20 games. Also give another point to Nico Hischier who was the NHL’s first star of the week and will have a streak of seven games. Both Stalock and Kinkaid will have good games. But ultimately the Devils will prevail over the Wild, with a final score of 3-1.
When/Where to Watch
7:00 PM MSG+ FS-N (Minnesota feed)