The New Jersey Devils (30-12-4) welcome the Vegas Golden Knights (29-17-2) to Newark on Tuesday night. The Devils won their last contest on Sunday thanks to a Dougie Hamilton overtime goal against Pittsburgh. Vegas is coming off a 4-1 loss in Arizona on Sunday night, but remains atop the Pacific Division. Meanwhile, the Devils sits two points out of first in the Metropolitan Division. This is the first meeting of the year between the Devils and Knights.
Match Overview
After a successful, 4-0-1 road trip, the Devils took down the Penguins in overtime to improve to 7-1-2 in their last ten games. Jack Hughes continues to be red hot for the Devils, scoring four goals and adding five assists in his last five games. He cracked the 30-goal plateau for the first time on Sunday. Dougie Hamilton added a goal and an assist Sunday, moving to 40 points in 46 games, a 71-point pace.
In net, Vitek Vanecek is playing as well as he has all season, and he figures to start tonight. On a personal seven-game win streak, Vanecek has posted a .930 save percentage and an outstanding 10.16 goals saved above expected (GSAx). For the season, he owns a .916 save percentage and a 12.19 GSAx. Backup Mackenzie Blackwood looked solid for the bulk of the road trip and has a .896 save percentage and a -0.53 GSAx for the year.
The Devils did not practice Monday, so there was no injury update on John Marino.
With several big names like Jack Eichel and Mark Stone headlining the Vegas forward group, it is surprising to see Chandler Stephenson leading the team in points. The former Capital is having a great year, registering 42 points in 48 games. However, he has just three points in nine games since the start of January. Stone and Eichel are close behind with 38 and 34 points, respectively, although Stone is currently injured. Meanwhile, Alex Pietrangelo leads Vegas defensemen with 31 points.
In net, Logan Thompson is lined up to get the start. For the season, Thompson owns a .912 save percentage and a -2.66 GSAx. Backup Adin Hill has been relatively solid, posting a .905 save percentage and a -2.07 GSAx.
Vegas also has several significant injuries to deal with. As noted above, Mark Stone has been scratched since January 12 with a back issue and is not expected to play tonight. Meanwhile, star defensemen Shea Theodore is on injured reserve alongside other regulars Zach Whitecloud, William Carrier, and Brett Howden. With these injuries, the Knights are currently playing 11 forward and seven defenseman with defenseman Keegan Kolesar being penciled in on the fourth line wing.
Projected Lines
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Palat – Hischier – Bratt
Haula – Hughes – Tatar
Boqvist – Sharangovich – Mercer
Wood – McLeod – Bastian
Defensemen
Siegenthaler – Hamilton
Graves – Severson
Bahl – Smith
Goaltenders
Vanecek
Blackwood
Vegas Golden Knights
Forwards
Stephenson – Eichel – Amadio
Smith – Karlsson – Marchessault
Cotter – Roy – Kessel
Rondbjerg – Froese – Kolesar
Defensemen
Martinez – Pietrangelo
McNabb – Korczak
Hague – Hutton
Goaltenders
Thompson
Hill
What to Watch For
Jack Hughes
All season long, Jack Hughes has been exceptional at controlling play, posting a 59.34 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 61.50 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) at five-on-five. However, since Thanksgiving, he has cranked up his point production, and is unquestionably among the league’s best at just 21 years old.
While none of this is shocking information to Devils’ fans, it is worth taking a look at just how special of a season Hughes is having. For the season, the 2019 first-overall pick has 30 goals and 58 points in just 46 games. That equates to a 53-goal and 103-point pace, both of which would shatter the current New Jersey records of 48 goals (Brian Gionta, 05-06) and 96 points (Patrik Elias, 00-01).
Meanwhile, since Thanksgiving, Hughes has recorded a point in 18-of-21 games. He has recorded multiple points in seven of his last 11 contests with the Devils going 8-1-2 over that stretch. Jack Hughes is currently having the best offensive season in Devils’ history and odds are he will be back on the scoresheet tonight.
Miles Wood and the “BMW” Line
For as hot as Jack Hughes has been, Miles Wood is ice cold. The winger has just two points in the last 17 games (both being assists), with both coming in a 5-1 win over Detroit. Wood is scoreless in the eight games since.
The 27-year-old’s underlying numbers have not been much better. Over those 17 games, Wood has the second-worst CF% (46.24) and xGF% (37.50) at five-on-five. Only linemate Michael McLeod has had worse metrics, but has contributed on the penalty kill and at the faceoff dot. In the win over Pittsburgh, the “BMW” line struggled. Despite a 63.64 CF%, the Bastian-McLeod-Wood trio managed just a 9.23 xGF% at five-on-five.
With the trade deadline approaching and New Jersey looking like buyers, Wood needs to turn his play around to potentially hold onto a regular spot.
Ondrej Palat
Ondrej Palat has yet to score a goal in his eight games since returning to the lineup, but his underlying metrics have been solid. Since returning, Palat is fourth on the team with both a 54.37 CF% and a 57.75 xGF% at five-on-five.
Palat also picked up three assists on the recent road trip, so the production is starting to come around to match the underlying numbers. It is only a matter of time before the offseason acquisition lights the lamp again.
Where to Watch
The Devils and Golden Knights will be shown exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET at the Prudential Center.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.