The New Jersey Devils are set to welcome the Ottawa Senators to town. The Devils have split the season series with the Senators, making this the finale. New Jersey remains eight points up in their race for the final Metropolitan Division playoff spot.
Matchup Overview
The Devils had won three games in a row, before falling to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 7-3, last Saturday. Since then, they have alternated wins.
One of the bigger issues for the Devils has been the third period. Thanks to the stellar play of goaltender Jake Allen, the Devils survived a surge by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. That same level of play carried over and the Devils blew a 3-1 lead against the Calgary Flames in the third frame of that game.
One of the main issues is the struggle of Jacob Markstrom, who has a .832 save percentage and a subpar -8.4 goals saved above expected since returning from injury. They certainly need him to dial it in, but thankfully Allen has been stellar in the crease. They’ll be taking on a Senators team that has been on a losing skid.
The Senators were one of the hottest teams in the league. They won six games in a row and are right in the mix for the playoff hunt. However, they’ve lost two in a row and have been outscored 11-4. Newcomer Dylan Cozens has been near a point per game player for the Senators and the Devils will see old friend Fabian Zetterlund.
Projected Lineups
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Meier-Hischier-Noesen
Tatar-Mercer-Bratt
Haula-Glass-Sprong
Foote-Cotter-Bastian
Defense
Hughes-Pesce
Dumoulin-Kovacevic
Dillon-Nemec
Goalies
Allen
Markstrom
Ottawa Senators
Forwards
Tkachuk-Stutzle-Zetterlund
Perron-Cozens-Batherson
Greig-Pinto-Giroux
Highmore-Gaudette-Amadio
Defense
Sanderson-Zub
Chabot-Jensen
Kleven-Matinpalo
Goalies
Ullmark
Forsberg
What to Watch For
The Third Period
The last two games have been a tall tale for the third period. The Devils played extremely passive against the Blue Jackets and got smothered. The Devils got out-attempted 44-6 and outshot 19-3 during five-on-five play.
The Flames dominated the period just like the Blue Jackets did. They out-attempted the Devils 22-8 and outshot them 13-3, while generating 1.06 expected goals. It was a poor collapse and resulted in a missed two points for the club.
The Senators sure have struggled, but if the Devils want to escape with a victory, they’ll need a better third period regardless of having a lead or being behind.
Solving Linus Ullmark
If you’re going by the last two games, solving Ullmark shouldn’t be a huge issue. He’s allowed eight goals the last two games, but he’s been a huge reason for their success this month overall. Ullmark still has a .913 save percentage and 2.99 goals saved above expected. He’s allowed more than three goals just once in the month of March before the two game losing skid.
The Devils will need to come sharp, as he is capable of stealing a game and giving the Senators high caliber goaltending.
Where to Watch
Saturday night’s puck drop is slated for 7:00 pm ET and can be found on MSG.