Matchup Overview

The New Jersey Devils are fresh off a 5-2 victory against the Boston Bruins and are now home to face the Carolina Hurricanes. It always feels a little more personal when these guys come to town given all of the playoff history. By history, of course, I mean getting beaten in all three series the Devils saw against them in the playoffs. Taylor Hall and Marcus Johansson remain out of the lineup for today’s contest.

Key to the Game

Bring What You Gave Boston… The Devils are going to want to bring everything they brought to the Bruins game on Thursday. They got solid goaltending from Mackenzie Blackwood, a very stellar offensive performance — Blake Coleman specifically — and we saw special teams come to life. If this is what we see today, it will almost guarantee victory.

Lineups

Carolina Hurricanes

Svechnikov/Aho/Teravainen
Ferland/Bishop/Williams
Foegele/Wallmark/Martinook
Kuokkanen/Rask/McGinn

Slavin/Pesce
de Haan/Faulk
van Riemsdyk/Hamilton

Mrazek

New Jersey Devils

Bratt/Hischier/Palmieri
Quenneville/Zajac/Coleman
Wood/Zacha/Noesen
Boyle/Seney/Stafford

Greene/Severson
Vatanen/Santini
Butcher/Lovejoy

Blackwood*

Players to Watch

Sebastian Aho… This Hurricanes forward is tearing it up this season. He is just one point away from reaching 40 on the season. That is very good considering it is only game 37 for Carolina. This is someone the Devils will need to watch carefully and keep off of the scoresheet. Otherwise, it could be a long night. They cannot afford to let Aho get going.

Devils starting goalie… It was Bruins goalie Jaroslav Halak we discussed needing to perform for last game, and he did not do so. Today, we shall discuss that the Devils player to watch is in fact whoever starts in net. At home in front of your crowd winding down 2018, the team as a whole — but especially the goaltender — would like to end the year on a high note. Look for a solid game from the Devils defensively, and more importantly, from the goalie.

Prediction

After being way off on last game’s prediction let’s actually talk about it. The Devils have been a better team at home team this season, and they have shown they know how to step up when Hall is not in the lineup. The Devils win by a final score of 4-2.

When/Where to Watch

1:00 on MSG+ and FS-CR (Carolina Area)