Sunday afternoon, the New Jersey Devils look to regain their momentum by defeating the New York Islanders. The Devils have lost two games in a row to the Bruins and Penguins.
The Devils are currently 41-31-7, which has them locked into third in the Metropolitan division. The Islanders hold a record of 34-33-12, which has them fifth in the Metro and eliminated from the playoffs.
Match Overview
The Devils began to pick things back up at the end of March and into April with a 4-1-1 stretch. Following that, however, the Devils have lost their two most recent games by a combined seven goals. Not ideal against bottom-ranking teams in the Eastern Conference. The Islanders have been hot and cold down the stretch, losing their two most recent games including a 9-2 thumping against the Rangers last Thursday.
We all know the Devils injury situation, it’s still not great heading into the postseason. The Islanders have their fair share of injuries as well including Mat Barzal, both goaltenders, and Anthony Duclair.
The two teams are each 1-0-1 against each other this season. The Islanders beat the Devils 4-3 in overtime in New Jersey, and two weeks later the Devils beat the Islanders 4-3 in overtime on Long Island. The team haven’t met since.
Lines and Pairings
Devils
Forwards
Noesen-Hischier-Bratt
Haula-Mercer-Meier
Palat-Glass-Sprong
Cotter-Lazar-Bastian
Defense
Hughes-Pesce
Dumoulin-Kovacevic
Dillon-Nemec
Goalies
Markstrom
Allen
Islanders
Forwards
Lee-Horvat-Palmieri
Tsyplakov-Pageau-Holmstrom
Engvall-Cizikas-Fasching
Martin-MacLean-Gatcomb
Defense
Pelech-Pulock
Romanov-DeAngelo
Dobson-Mayfield
Goalies
Lennox
Hogberg
Keys to the Game
Hamilton Close
While it was once thought Hamilton might not be back until at least the second round, his recovery went better than expected. After a couple weeks of skating on his own, Hamilton joined the team at practice yesterday and jumped right into drills next to Brendan Dillon. Head coach Sheldon Keefe told the media that while he won’t play today, Hamilton is very close and it’s going to come down to when he feels ready.
Islanders Goalies
Marcus Hogberg was in for eight of the Rangers’ nine goals last Thursday, and allowed three goals on 22 shots. If the Islanders decide to give him a rest, their next option would be Tristan Lennox. Lennox allowed one goal on two shots in his first NHL appearance against the Rangers last Thursday. In his first professional season altogether, Lennox has an .832 save percentage (sv%) in four AHL games and .909 in 13 ECHL games. Lennox was a third-round pick of the Islanders in 2021.
Where to Watch
Puck drop is set for 1:00 pm ET Sunday afternoon. The game will be exclusively nationally televised on TNT.