Devils Aim for First Win in Boston Since 2021

Devils vs. Bruins. (Image via. Getty Images, New York Post)

Monday afternoon, the New Jersey Devils look to win two in a row against the Boston Bruins. The Devils are coming off a win against the Florida Panthers while the Bruins are coming off a win in St. Louis. 

The Devils are 22-15-3, good enough for fifth in the Metropolitan division. The Bruins hold a record of 25-8-9, which has them at first in the Atlantic division. After a win and Panthers loss last night head coach Jim Montgomary will head to the All-Star game.

Lines and Pairings

Devils

Forwards

Haula-Hischier-Mercer

Toffoli-McLeod-Bratt

Tierney-Lazar-Holtz

Willlman-Bowers-Bastian

Defense

Smith-Nemec

Hughes-Marino

Bahl-Miller

Goalies

Daws

Vanecek

Bruins

Forwards

Marchand-Coyle-Pastrnak

DeBrusk-Frederic-Heinen

Van Riemsdyk-Geekie-Boqvist

Lauko-Beecher-Steen

Defense

Grzelcyk-McAvoy

Lindholm-Wotherspoon

Lohrei-Shattenkirk

Goalies

Swayman

Bussi

Nico Daws. (Image via. NHL.com)

Keys to the Game

Is Daws the Answer?

If Nico Daws can play as well as he did Saturday for the Devils, the team is set. Daws was lights out stopping everything at five-on-five. To make the playoffs you need games where you get bailed out by your goaltender every once in a while. The Devils haven’t really gotten that this year, or even solid goaltending in general. 

If even for a little bit to stall until closer to the trade deadline, Daws playing at a high level would be ginormous.

Staying Relevant

It feels like it’s been a few years in a row now that hockey fans as a collective go, “this has to be the year the Bruins will fall off,” and they never do. This year, after losing David Krecji and Patrice Bergeron for good, along with tons of depth, many said that it “had to be the year,” the Bruins at least fell to not one of the best teams in the league. 

They are currently first in the Atlantic Division, third in the entire NHL, and dominating opponents night in and night out. How do they continue to do it? Well, the answer is probably some combination of elite coaching, defense, goaltending, and David Pastrnak. Maybe eventually they’ll be bad, but for now, they’re still the cream of the crop.

Where to Watch

The Devils and Bruins puck drop at TD Garden is scheduled for 1:00 pm ET and can be seen on MSG SportsNet.

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