The New Jersey Devils (25-21-3) travel to Raleigh to take on the Carolina Hurricanes (29-16-5) Saturday night. The Devils are coming off a 5-3 loss against Calgary on Thursday while Carolina defeated Colorado last time out. This is the second meeting of the year between the division rivals, with the Hurricanes picking up a 3-2 win back on January 25.
Match Overview
The Devils got some positive injury news at Friday’s practice when Brendan Smith was skating in a regular jersey. Per Amanda Stein, Smith will not play in Carolina, but is day-to-day. Jesper Bratt took a maintenance day on Friday, but is expected to play.
In net, the Devils have not announced a starter at the time of publishing. However, after a disappointing performance from Vitek Vanecek in Thursday’s loss, it would make sense to see Nico Daws tonight. Daws has not played since before the all-star break and has posted a .895 save percentage and a -1.03 goals saved above expected (GSAx) this season.
As for Carolina, Andrei Svechnikov was a full participant in an optional skate on Friday and is expected to return to the lineup today, per Walt Ruff. Svechnikov has not played since January 19 with an upper-body injury.
Meanwhile, Pyotr Kochetkov is expected to be in goal tonight after Antti Raanta left Thursday’s game with an injury. Kochetkov has a .898 save percentage and a -7.07 GSAx this season.
As for skaters, Sebastian Aho leads the Hurricanes in goals, assists, and points with 18, 38, and 56, respectively. Seth Jarvis is second on the team with 40 points and 16 goals while Martin Necas, fresh off a first period hat trick against the Avalanche, also has 16 goals. Brent Burns leads the defensemen with 30 points.
Projected Lines
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Palat – Hischier – Bratt
Toffoli – Hughes – Holtz
Meier – Haula – Mercer
Lazar – Nosek – Bastian
Defensemen
Bahl – Nemec
Hughes – Marino
Hatakka – Miller
Goaltenders
Daws
Vanecek
Carolina Hurricanes
Forwards
Svechnikov – Aho – Teravainen
Bunting – Drury – Necas
Martinook – Staal – Jarvis
Noesen – Kotkaniemi – Fast
Defensemen
Slavin – Burns
Skjei – Orlov
Chatfield – Deangelo
Goaltenders
Kochetkov
Martin
What To Watch For
The Hischier Line
In the two games since the All-Star break, the line of Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Ondrej Palat have had mixed results. On one hand, the trio has outscored opponents 4-2 at five-on-five, while Hischier and Bratt also linked up for a shorthanded goal on Thursday. On the other hand, though, they have also been outchanced while on the ice.
Hischier and Bratt in particular have not had their best underlying performances. The duo have the two lowest expected goals-for percentages at five-on-five among Devils skaters since the break at 38.83 for Hischier and 40.30 for Bratt. They are also both at 40% or below in their share of high-danger chances.
Now, their production (five goals in two games) has outweighed their lower share of scoring chances, but if this line can begin tilting the ice in their favor, the Devils might really be able to dominate games. It will be difficult against an elite Carolina team, but New Jersey needs its captain to step up in a big divisional matchup.
Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec
When the Devils last took on the Hurricanes, the impressive young defensemen both had tremendous nights. Hughes posted a 91.02 xGF% at five-on-five with Nemec putting up a 88.29 xGF%. The pair also had a 11-1 and 8-1 edge in high-danger chances, respectively.
With either of the young defensemen on the ice, the Devils dominated the run of play against the Hurricanes despite the loss. It is unlikely they will be that dominant again, but since the all-star break, both have registered a sub-45.00 xGF%. If New Jersey wants to knock off a division rival tonight, they need Nemec and Hughes closer to the levels they showed off last time in Carolina.
Special Teams
After starting the year with an elite power play and struggling penalty kill, things have flipped for New Jersey of late. Since losing Jack Hughes on January 5, the Devils are just 2-for-29 on the man advantage (6.9%) and both of those goals came on January 17 against Montreal.
However, the Devils’ penalty kill is 30-for-34 (88.2%) in that same time frame. Despite the hot stretch, especially with several key defenders out, the Devils still sit just 18th with a 79.2% penalty kill.
Things will not be easy against a Carolina team that is second in the league with a 28.0% power play and fourth with a 83.9% penalty kill, but for a New Jersey team in the thick of the wild card race, a timely special teams goal can make the difference between a win and a loss.
Where To Watch
Tonight’s game is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET on MSGSN.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.