The New Jersey Devils (15-8-2) hope to return to their winning way against the Detroit Red Wings (10-10-2) Friday afternoon. The Devils enter the matchup with 32 points and in second place in the Metropolitan Division. Meanwhile, the Red Wings enter in sixth place in the Atlantic Division.
Overview
The Devils are coming off another shutout loss on Wednesday at the hands of Jordan Binnington and the St. Louis Blues. This continued a very bizarre trend of the Devils getting shutout in each of their last four losses; the team is 8-4-0 over that time and 10-4-0 over their last 14 games. Interestingly enough, in their latest shutout loss, a 3-0 defeat, the Devils generated a ton of opportunities (81 shot attempts and 4.6 excepted goals), but just could not beat the goaltender.
As far as roster news goes, Nathan Bastain and Curtis Lazar remain out. Bastian has been skating in practices, with a full face shield. Meanwhile, Timo Meier is set to return from his one-game suspension (illegal cross-check against Nashville) and the Devils are expected to make some other lineup changes. In Thursday’s practice, Kurtis MacDermid was skating on the fourth line alongside Justin Dowling and Tomas Tatar. Nolan Foote, who played in the Devils’ last loss, was sent back down to Utica (AHL).
As for the Red Wings, Detroit is coming in winners of their last two games. After losing three straight and five of their last six, the Red Wings have won three of four. Detroit is led by 22-year-old Lucas Raymond, who paces Detroit with 22 points in 22 games. Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin trail Raymond closely, with 19 and 18 points, respectively. Overall, the Red Wings struggle to score the puck, sitting at 28th in goals per game (2.50).
In net, Cam Talbot has carried the workload with 13 starts this season. He has been very strong this season, posting a .923 save percentage and 6.33 goals saved above expected (GSAx). Alex Lyon has played second fiddle to Talbot, starting nine games and posting a .911 save percentage and a 2.08 GSAx.
On the injury front, both forward Patrick Kane and goaltender Alex Lyon statuses are in question. Kane is rumored to be close to a return, his status for Friday night is unknown. Meanwhile, Lyon was injured in Wednesday’s morning skate, his status is also unknown for Friday.
Projected Lineups
Devils Lines
Forwards
Palat – Hughes – Bratt
Meier – Hischier – Noesen
Cotter – Haula – Mercer
MacDermid – Dowling – Tatar
Defense
Dillon – Hamilton
Siegenthaler – Kovacevic
Hughes – Pesce
Goaltenders
Markstrom
Allen
Red Wings Lines
Forwards
Tarasenko – Larkin – Raymond
DeBrincat – Compher – Motte
Veleno – Kasper – Berggren
Rasmussen – Copp – Fischer
Defense
Edvinsson – Seider
Chiarot – Petry
Johansson – Holl
Goaltenders
Talbot
Lyon
What To Watch For
Devils Defense
The Devils’ defense has been one of the better in the NHL this season. Entering play on Friday, at all strengths, the Devils are only allowing 2.7 expected goals against per 60 minute, the sixth-lowest in the league. Scoring chances against, high-danger chances against, shots against, etc. all rank among the league’s best as well. On Friday, they will be going up against a Red Wings team that struggles mightily to generate chances. Detroit ranks 31st in the league in expected goals for per 60 minutes, which has resulted in goals per game average that is 28th.
The Devils’ defense should be able to keep Detroit at bay, especially given the run they have been on. Over New Jersey’s last four games, they’ve held opponents to fewer than 2.25 expected goals in each contest. The Devils’ defensive game has been elite lately, and against one of the worst offensive teams in the NHL, they should get an opportunity to excel once again.
Special Teams
In Wednesday’s shutout against the St. Louis Blues, the Devils’ power play went 0-for-3. However, it was not for the lack of trying. In the game, New Jersey generated six high-danger chances and 10 scoring chances on the man advantage. They accumulated 1.74 expected goals over those three opportunities but were unable to breakthrough. Once again, the unit that ranks third in the league with a 30.3% success rate, was very strong.
On Friday, the Devils will face off against a Detroit penalty kill the ranks dead last in the NHL (68.9% success rate). The underlying statistics back up these struggles, as the Red Wings allow the fifth-most shots, second-most scoring chances, and third-most expected goals per 60 minutes on the kill. If they get the opportunities to go on the man advantage, the Devils should thrive.
On the flip side, the Red Wings do have an extremely strong power play. The unit ranks sixth in the league with a 28.1% success rate which is extremely interesting given how much Detroit struggles to score overall. As mentioned above, the Red Wings offense overall is very poor, however, on the power play, for whatever reason, they thrive. If New Jersey is able to stay out of the penalty box, they should be in good shape.
Where To Watch
Friday afternoons game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit is set for a 3:00 pm ET puck drop. The game can be watched on MSG SportsNet.