The homestand continues for the New Jersey Devils. The battle against the teams from Florida continues, as the Panthers come to town. This game ought to have a playoff type feel to it, as both teams are quality contenders. The Devils have faced the Panthers twice, winning both games and outscoring them 10-3.
Matchup Overview
The Devils had a rough road trip coming out of the Christmas Break. Things started off on a high note, by beating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on home ice. Then, the road trip happened. On their swing through California and finishing in New York, the Devils went 1-4-1, with their lone win coming against the Seattle Kraken thanks to the stellar play of Jacob Markstrom between the pipes.
During five-on-five play, the Devils struggled to score. Throughout the trip, the Devils generated 12.48 expected goals for (xGF) and scored ten goals, so slightly below their expected rate. There were games that you would’ve liked to see them win, such as against Anaheim and New York. But they did right the ship on home ice.
The Devils took it to the Tampa Bay Lightning and secured the overtime victory. That was a battle between two quality playoff teams and the Devils prevailed. They’ll want that same energy against the Panthers.
The Panthers have gone 3-4-1 since the break. Their losses have been quite lopsided, getting shutout by the Canadiens and also scoring just one goal against the Avalanche. Also, they managed to lose to the Bruins in overtime, despite holding the edge in the shot attempts share 109-37 and generating 5.75 expected goals. Florida is also coming off a loss just last night in Philadelphia, where they blew a lead.
Projected Lineups
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Palat-Hughes-Bratt
Meier-Hischier-Noesen
Cotter-Dowling-Mercer
Tatar-Lazar-Bastian
Defense
Dillon-Hamilton
Hughes-Pesce
Siegenthaler-Kovacevic
Goalies
Markstrom
Allen
Florida Panthers
Forwards
Rodrigues-Barkov-Reinhart
Luostarinen-Bennett-Tkachuk
Verhaeghe-Lundell-Boqvist
Greer-Nosek-Samoskevich
Defense
Forsling-Kulikov
Mikkola-Schmidt
Bjornfot-Balinskis
Goalies
Knight
Bobrovsky
What to Watch For
Jacob Markstrom’s Continued Dominance Between the Pipes
It is truly a breath of fresh air that the Devils have a legitimate and quality number one goaltender between the pipes. Jacob Markstrom has been everything you could’ve wanted in a number one goalie. The bar was low, but he has elevated that bar in a big way.
Markstrom has been sensational for the Devils overall, but especially since December. Since December 1, Markstrom has a 1.63 goals against average, .926 save percentage, and 12.74 goals saved above expected. He has allowed more than two goals just twice since the start of December. Markstrom has been a huge reason for the Devils success and seeing him at his best against Florida will be huge.
Will Jesper Bratt Torch Florida Once Again?
The Devils were extremely dominant in South Florida when they faced the Panthers two games in a row. The games were physical and had a playoff edge to them. The same will be felt in Newark, New Jersey. Also, Jesper Bratt was a force to be reckoned with in those games and it’ll be good to see if he can continue to torch them this year.
In the two games against the Panthers, Bratt finished with three goals and five points. Bratt had seven shots on goal and seemingly made good things happen with the puck on his stick.
Where to Watch
Tuesday night’s puck drop is at 7:30 pm ET and is an ESPN+/Hulu exclusive game.