The Devils took the first two games of the season series between the teams. –Getty Images
Match Overview
Tonight’s game will feature your New Jersey Devils, who currently own a 24-13-8 record which positions them second in the Metropolitan Division, and the Detroit Redwings, who own an 18-20-7 record which puts them sixth in the Atlantic Division.
The New Jersey Devils are coming off a 3-1 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday that left the team banged up. Forward Brian Gibbons (broken thumb) and goaltender Keith Kinkaid (groin) were both injured and promptly put on the injured reserve following the contest. The loss against the Flyers also snapped the Devils’ two-game win streak, making tonight’s game against a bottom tier team very important.
The Detroit Redwings, who have struggled all year, are currently facing another losing skid. The Redwings are 4-1-0 in their last five games and have seen any hopes of a playoff run slowly diminish. As their record indicates Detroit is bottom tier in many main team-statistical categories. Offensively, the Wings rank 26th in goals per game (2.6) and 17th on the power play (19.1%). Defensively, Detroit ranks 23rd in both goals against (3.0) and the penalty kill (78.9%). Do not let some of these statistics fool you, as Detroit have young studs in Dylan Larkin (36-points) and Anthony Mantha (15-goals) who can burn you with their speed. Goaltender Petr Mrazek, who holds a 4-5-1 record, a 3.43 GAA, and a .894 Sv%, is expected to start.
Tonight’s game will be at the Prudential Center and is scheduled to start at 7:00 PM.
Projected Devils Lines
Hall-Hischier-Bratt
Johansson-Zajac-Stafford
Wood-Zacha-Palmieri
Coleman-Boyle-Noesen
Greene-Vatanen
Moore-Severson
Butcher-Lovejoy
Schneider
Projected Redwings Lines
Nyquist-Zetterberg-Mantha
Bertuzzi-Larkin-Athanasiou
Tatar-Nielsen-Frk
Witkowski-Turgeon-Booth
DeKeyser-Green
Ericsson-Jensen
Kronwall-Hicketts
Mrazek
Taylor Hall is currently riding a seven-point win streak. –Getty Images
What/Who to Watch
- Devils’ forward Taylor Hall has been sensational as of late. Hall is riding a seven-game point streak (5G, 7A) and has shown no sign of letting up. However, he took another “maintenance day” on Sunday which raised some concern from fans. It’ll be interesting to see if Hall is really 100% during tonight’s contest.
- One aspect of the game the Devils have struggled with all year is face-offs. Luckily for them, the Wings struggle just as much on the draw. The Wings come into tonight with a 48.5% success rate on the draw which is 24th best in the league. The Devils aren’t that far behind, they have a success rate of 47.2 on the dot which is 29th best in the league. On most nights, the Devils get caved in on face-offs, however, tonight should be a little different.
- Forward Blake Coleman is expected to draw into the lineup in place of injured Brian Gibbons. Coleman was a member of the Devils’ lineup for the first 42-games of the season. It’ll be interesting to see how hungry the penalty-killing specialist is as he checks back into the lineup for the first time since January 13th.
Tonight’s game can be seen on MSG at 7:00 PM.