The New Jersey Devils (18-13-2) travel to Canada to face the Ottawa Senators (13-17-0) Friday night. The Devils defeated the Blue Jackets in overtime on Wednesday in the first game back from the Christmas break. The win salvaged a 2-2-1 homestand after New Jersey dropped the first three contests.
This is the first meeting of the year between the Devils and Senators after New Jersey swept all three meetings last season.
Match Overview
The biggest news out of New Jersey yesterday was that the Devils sent Akira Schmid to Utica in the AHL while keeping 23-year-old Nico Daws on the active roster. Daws figures to get the start tonight with Vitek Vanecek likely to go tomorrow on a back-to-back in Boston. However, nothing is yet to be confirmed.
This season, Daws has played just three games at the AHL level, posting a .929 save percentage. He has not seen action in the NHL yet this season. For his career, Daws has a .893 save percentage and has a -10.18 goals saved above expected (GSAx) in 25 games.
In other roster news, Curtis Lazar returned to practice after missing Wednesday’s game while Ondrej Palat took a maintenance day, per Amanda Stein.
As for Ottawa, it has been a disappointing year for the Senators. After trading away Alex DeBrincat in the offseason, Ottawa started slowly and head coach DJ Smith was fired earlier this month. Since Jacques Martin took over behind the bench, the Senators are 2-2-0.
21-year-old Tim Stutzle leads Ottawa with 33 points in 30 games. However, the German center has just seven goals a year after netting a career-high 39. Brady Tkachuk leads the team with 16 goals. Drake Batherson and Josh Norris have also reached double-figures in tallies.
Jakob Chychrun leads Senators’ defensemen with 24 points, although blueliner Thomas Chabot is currently on long-term injured reserve.
In goal, Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo have shared the net. Korpisalo has posted a .894 save percentage and a -6.78 GSAx while Forsberg sports a .877 save percentage and a -7.32 GSAx.
Projected Lines
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Toffoli – Hughes – Bratt
Palat – Hischier – Haula
Meier – McLeod – Mercer
Holtz – Lazar – Bastian
Defensemen
Siegenthaler – Nemec
Hughes – Marino
Bahl – Miller
Goaltenders
Daws
Vanecek
Ottawa Senators
Forwards
Tkachuk – Norris – Giroux
Tarasenko – Stutzle – Batherson
Kubalik – Greig – Crookshank
Smejkal – Kastelic – Kelly
Defensemen
Sanderson – Zub
Chychrun – Hamonic
Brannstrom – Bernard-Docker
Goaltenders
Korpisalo
Forsberg
What To Watch For
Surging Third Line
Over the last homestand, the Devils seemingly found a working combination on the third line. The trio of Michael McLeod, Timo Meier, and Dawson Mercer posted 64.65 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) while playing together at five-on-five. Over the five games, the line played just over 30 minutes together at even strength.
While that certainly isn’t the largest sample size, all three impressed at an individual level as well. Meier has scored four goals in the last three contests, including the overtime winner on Wednesday, to bring his season total to nine goals. Mercer was also off to a slow start, but has five points in his last three contests, spending most of that time alongside Meier.
Meanwhile, Michael McLeod led all Devils’ skaters with a 64.00 percent share of the high-danger chances while on the ice at five-on-five throughout the homestand. All three of these players are trending in the right direction, and Lindy Ruff appears to have found a third line that is clicking on all cylinders.
Slumping Power Play
One disappointing aspect of the Devils’ game in recent weeks has been the power play. New Jersey had been leading the league on the man advantage, but a 2-for-26 stretch over the last ten games has dropped the Devils to third for the season at 29.1%.
Part of the reason for that struggle has been a slump from Jack Hughes. The 2019 first-overall pick has points on both of those power play goals, but has struggled to create much at any strength. Hughes has been held without a point in five of those ten games. That had only happened in four of his first 18 games this season, including the game he exited early against St. Louis with an injury.
On the bright side for New Jersey, Ottawa ranks 30th in the league with just a 72.1% penalty kill, so tonight is as good a chance as any to get back on track with the extra man.
Where to Watch
Tonight’s game is on MSGSN with faceoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick