The New Jersey Devils (10-6-2) travel to the Sunshine State to take on the defending champion Florida Panthers (11-3-1) on Tuesday night. New Jersey comes in having won four of six, but lost in its last game 1-0 to San Jose. Meanwhile, Florida has won seven straight. This is the first meeting of the year between the Devils and Panthers.
Match Overview
There have been no new updates on the Devils’ injury front. Check out our social media channels for any possible updates from today’s morning skate.
Meanwhile, Jacob Markstrom is expected to start in goal for New Jersey. Markstrom is coming off a 19 save performance against the Islanders where he allowed -0.60 goals above expected in a 4-3 win. For the season, he has posted a .902 save percentage and a -2.46 goals saved above expected (GSAx).
As for Florida, the Panthers have a clean bill of health entering tonight’s game. Sam Reinhart, fresh off an eight-year contract extension, is pacing the Panthers. His 11 goals, 12 assists, and 23 points lead the team in all categories. Sam Bennett’s nine goals are second while Gustav Forsling and Niko Mikkola lead the defensemen with eight points each.
Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, and Carter Verhaeghe are all among Florida’s stars as well. All are off to solid starts, ranging from 10-to-12 points.
Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to start for the Panthers. The Russian netminder has registered a .895 save percentage and a -2.61 GSAx in 11 games this season.
Projected Lines
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Meier – Hischier – Mercer
Palat – Hughes – Bratt
Cotter – Haula – Noesen
MacDermid – Dowling – Tatar
Defensemen
Dillon – Hamilton
Siegenthaler – Kovacevic
Hughes – Pesce
Goaltenders
Markstrom
Allen
Florida Panthers
Forwards
Rodrigues – Barkov – Reinhart
Verhaeghe – Bennett – Tkachuk
Luostarinen – Lundell – Boqvist
Greer – Nosek – Gadjovich
Defensemen
Forsling – Ekblad
Mikkola – Kulikov
Balinskis – Schmidt
Goaltenders
Bobrovsky
Knight
What To Watch For
Hughes-Pesce Pair Struggles
It was a difficult weekend for the Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce pairing. Each defenseman logged over 34 minutes of five-on-five ice time, and both struggled in that workload.
Over the two contests, Pesce registered just a 23.58 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) while Hughes managed only a 31.14 xGF%. These were the lowest two marks among all Devils’ skaters.
On top of that, the Devils were heavily out-chanced with the pairing on the ice. Opponents had an 11-3 edge in high-danger chances with Pesce on the ice and an 11-4 edge with Hughes on the ice.
Of course, this is a very small sample size, but it certainly was not the best the Hughes-Pesce pairing has looked.
Top Line Quiet
While the Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Ondrej Palat line took the headlines for a stellar performance in the back-to-back, the rest of the New Jersey top six was fairly quiet.
During the two games over the weekend, only six Devils skaters finished with an xGF% below 50.00: the aforementioned Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce, Justin Dowling, and the top line of Nico Hischier, Dawson Mercer, and Timo Meier.
Over the back-to-back, this line posted a brutal 25.44 xGF%. The Devils also lost the high-danger chances battle 10-3 with this trio on the ice.
Against an elite team like Florida, even Jack Hughes firing on all cylinders won’t be enough. The Devils need more out of the Nico Hischier line, especially in a crucial two-way role.
Where To Watch
Tonight’s game is an ESPN+ and Hulu exclusive. It will only be available on those streaming services. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 pm ET.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.