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Matchup Overview

As the rift widens between the New Jersey Devils and the playoffs, they look to rebound off a frustrating 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes. Having lost their last three contests, over which they’ve been outscored 13-2, this is indisputably one of the team’s lowest points of the season. As they enter tonight’s game against the hosting Nashville Predators, New Jersey is at risk of suffering their first four-game winless streak since they stumbled out of the gate in their first four game of the season. They’re gearing up to face a Nashville Predators squad that’s in the midst of a five-game winning streak, looking to increase their strength an already-comfortable vice-grip they have on the Western Conference’s first wildcard spot. Needless to say, both teams are headed towards opposite ends of the playoff spectrum. In their last meeting, the Devils succumbed to the Predators in a 3-1 loss. It was just their third game of the season, and gave New Jersey their third regulation loss to start the year (being part of the aforementioned four-game winless streak New Jersey started the year with).

I wouldn’t say general manager Ray Shero threw in the towel on the season as many Devils fans have suggested, more so than he continued to remain focused on the big picture of his rebuilding plan. Having said that, the ramifications of Lee Stempniak’s trade to the Bruins (in addition to Cammalleri’s indefinite sidelining) have been devastating. As the Devils become the NHL’s lowest-scoring team, they’ll face the cumbersome task of having to stop Nashville’s dynamic offense that’s fronted by prolific forwards Filip Forsberg, James Neal, and Ryan Johansen. Forsberg’s 12 goals scored this February, accounted for about a third of his team’s entire output, which is one of two things the Devils have in their favor. If Cory Schneider’s goaltending holds up (although I suspect he’s starting to burn out), the ability of New Jersey’s defense to contain Forsberg could be the difference maker. The other factor the Devils could have going for them is how the Predators’ winning percentages at home and on the road show virtually no disparity. The Predators are unquestionably the better team out of the two, but if it the game comes down to anything either team may do differently in home or away games, the Devils have a 50/50 shot at winning.

 

Who to watch

David Warsofsky…He was the first of four transactions orchestrated by Ray Shero on Monday’s trade deadline, and perhaps the most intriguing. The undersized puck-moving defenseman is essentially a mini-version of Eric Gelinas, who was moved later that day. Shero made a good decision in his last Waiver claim from his old organization, so Warsofsky needs a strong impactful showing tonight to establish that trend.

Roman Jossi…Last time Nashville played the Devils, Jossi was responsible for two of his team’s three goals in that game. While Jossi shares the team lead in points with Forsberg (46), he’s had a slow month goal-wise with just one. You have to think that Jossi is looking at tonight’s game as a golden opportunity to snap his current goal drought, rather than continue his third goal-less drought this year that reached ten games.

 

What to watch

Another ticking time bomb…? With the way things are going, the Devils could be walking into another slaughterhouse of a matchup tonight. The Predators don’t have an all-star caliber offense, but are capable (and have) of scoring goals in bunches. They’ve scored 18 times over their five-game winning streak, while the Devils scored ten. Like I mentioned earlier, New Jersey’s been outscored 13-2 during their current three-game skid, and could be a meager sandbag facing an oncoming wall of water that is the streaking Nashville Predators (especially if their new lineup additions fail to have impactful first games).

 

Where to watch

MSG+2 (Local)

FS-TN (Nashville)

 

When to watch

8:00pm EST