The New Jersey Devils (50-21-8) travel north to take on the President’s Trophy-winning Boston Bruins (61-12-5) tonight. The Devils are coming off an 8-1 shellacking of the Blue Jackets while Boston beat Toronto in overtime on Thursday.
New Jersey can tie a franchise record with its 51st win tonight. Meanwhile, the Bruins can tie the NHL record with their 62nd win. Boston won both of the previous two meetings between the teams back in December.
Match Overview
With three games to go in the regular season, the Devils are four points ahead of the Rangers for second in the Metropolitan Division. The magic number to clinch home ice over New York outright is three, but a regulation win in any of the final three games secures the tiebreaker, and therefore, home ice for the Devils. Meanwhile, the Devils pulled within one point of Carolina for first place, with the Hurricanes having four games to go.
In some exciting prospect news, defenseman Luke Hughes is expected to meet the team in Boston, per Elliotte Friedman. The 2021 fourth-overall pick is not expected to play on Saturday, per Emily Kaplan, but seems likely to feature at some point down the stretch. The youngest Hughes brother just completed his sophomore season at Michigan, losing in the Frozen Four to Quinnipiac.
Meanwhile, injury news remains relatively similar, although Erik Haula and Jesper Bratt took maintenance days from practice on Friday. They are both going to be re-evaluated before the game and should be available, per Amanda Stein.
In net, Vitek Vanecek has started three straight games. The 27-year-old still seems more likely to start over Mackenzie Blackwood against the best team in the league, though. Stay tuned to our social channels closer to puck drop for updates. On the season, Vanecek has posted a .910 save percentage and a 6.96 goals saved above expected (GSAx) while Blackwood owns an .895 save percentage and a -1.5 GSAx.
As for Boston, the runaway President’s Trophy winners have been led by David Pastrnak. The 26-year-old leads the team with both 57 goals and 47 assists for 104 points. He figures to finish top three in Hart Trophy balloting at the end of the season.
The Bruins also have tremendous depth, but that may be tested tonight as the regular season winds down. Per Joe Haggerty, center David Krejci is “very doubtful” for tonight while Charlie McAvoy is day-to-day. Both will be re-evaluated before the game. Meanwhile, former Devil Taylor Hall has been out since late February and is on LTIR, but has not yet been ruled out for tonight at the time of writing.
Maybe Boston’s biggest strength is in net. Linus Ullmark is a likely Vezina finalist with his whopping .937 save percentage and staggering 35.52 GSAx. Backup Jeremy Swayman has been solid as well with a .921 save percentage and a 16.95 GSAx.
Projected Lines
New Jersey Devils –
Forwards
Tatar – Hischier – Mercer
Palat – Hughes – Bratt
Meier – Haula – Boqvist
Wood – McLeod – Sharangovich
Defensemen
Siegenthaler – Hamilton
Graves – Marino
Bahl – Severson
Goaltenders
Vanecek
Blackwood
Boston Bruins –
Forwards
Marchand – Bergeron – Debrusk
Bertuzzi – Zacha – Pastrnak
Frederic – Coyle – Hathaway
Greer – Nosek – Steen
Defensemen
Orlov – McAvoy
Lindholm – Carlo
Grzelcyk – Clifton
Goaltenders
Ullmark
Swayman
What to Watch For
Jack Hughes
After a dominating four-point night against Columbus, Jack Hughes is on the precipice of franchise history. His 95 points are the second-most in Devils history behind only Patrik Elias’ 96 in 2000-2001. The 21-year-old is currently putting up 1.27 points per game, so with three games to go, you would expect Hughes to eclipse Elias, potentially in this game.
Hughes is also scorching hot at the moment. He has recorded a point in five-straight games and seven of his last eight contests. Hughes has tallied at least one power play point in six of those games as well.
One of the more interesting aspects of Hughes’ recent point streak is how he still appears to have another gear to reach. During the last eight games, Hughes has a 58.98 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) and 63.33 high-danger Corsi-for percentage (HDCF%) at five-on-five, good for 17th and 13th among Devils’ skaters, respectively. While those numbers are more than good enough for success, ordinarily, you would expect to see Hughes among the top five or ten on the team.
That also goes to show how well Hughes has clicked on the power play recently. With seven power play points in the last eight games, Hughes has the Devils’ first power play unit humming. That will be another key matchup to watch tonight, with Boston’s league-leading penalty kill sitting at a ridiculous 87.1%.
Timo Meier
Another Devil on a hot streak is Timo Meier. The trade deadline acquisition looks like he is finding a rhythm with his new teammates after a touch-and-go start.
Meier has scored five goals in the last five games after scoring just four in his first 13 games in New Jersey. In the process, the Swiss winger hit the 40-goal mark for the first time in his NHL career.
Similarly to Hughes, Meier has gotten hot on the power play. He has power play goals in three of the last five games. Hughes picked up assists on both of Meier’s tallies against Columbus on Thursday.
With those two beginning to form a connection on the man-advantage, the NJ power play has connected on seven of its last 20 attempts, a 35% clip. For the season, the Devils’ power play is up to 22.1%, good for 12th in the league.
Graves-Marino Pairing
Ryan Graves and John Marino will have their hands full tonight with David Pastrnak. The Czech winger has a legitimate chance to hit 60 goals and has been one of the most dynamic players in the league. All season long, Graves and Marino have gotten the bulk of the tough minutes against the opponent’s top weapons from head coach Lindy Ruff, and tonight should be no different.
In the two previous meetings this season, both Marino and Graves were out injured, so tonight will be the first time either faces Boston this year. Pastrnak scored twice in the first contest before adding an assist on an empty-net goal in the second.
Thursday against Columbus, Marino had a 67.84 xGF% and a 60.00 HDCF%, both third among Devils’ defensemen at five-on-five. Meanwhile, Graves posted a 56.37 xGF% and a 53.85 HDCF%. For the season, both range from 54.00-57.00 in those same possession metrics.
It will be a much, much tougher challenge tonight, though, but if Graves and Marino can stalemate the Pastrnak line, things look much better for New Jersey.
Where to Watch
The Devils and Bruins will be nationally televised on ABC and ESPN+ tonight. Puck drop from Boston is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.