Friday night, the New Jersey Devils look to stay hot by defeating the Seattle Kraken. The Devils have gone 2-2-0 over their last four games, but won their most recent outing at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers on Monday.

The Devils are currently 17-9-2, which currently has them second in the Metropolitan Division. The Kraken hold a record of 13-13-1, which has them sixth in the Pacific Division.

Match Overview

The Devils have a couple question marks in terms of injuries, with both Erik Haula and Jack Hughes missing a practice this week. Haula returned on Thursday, with Hughes being confirmed out of practice for a maintenance days. Additionally, Tomas Tatar has returned to practice after being on the shelf. Hopefully, the three days off helped the team rest up and will allow them to be as healthy as possible for Friday’s matchup.

In the team’s short history, the Devils have fared well against the Kraken. The “Cryptid Cup,” as the two team’s social medias have dubbed the game, has gone to New Jersey four of the six games. The Devils have yet to lose to the Kraken in regulation in Seattle’s history, holding a record of 4-0-2 against them all time. The Devils will look to keep this going Friday.

Lines and Pairings

Devils

Forwards

Palat-Hughes-Bratt

Meier-Hischier-Noesen

Tatar-Haula-Mercer 

Cotter-Dowling-Legare

Defense

Dillon-Hamilton

Hughes-Pesce

Siegenthaler-Kovacevic

Goalies

Markstrom

Allen

Kraken

Forwards

Schwartz-Beniers-Gourde

McCann-Stephenson-Tanev

Tolvanen-Wright-Bjorkstrand

Kartye-Stephens-Winterton

Defense

Dunn-Larsson

Oleksiak-Montour

Mahura-Borgen

Goalies

Daccord

Grubauer

Keys to the Game

Having the Rest Advantage

With how funky the Devils schedule has been this year, there haven’t been many games where the team has been more rested than their opponent. However, for one of the few times so far this season, the Devils will be the more rested team. 

After six games in 10 days, and seven in 12, the Devils had three days off this week where they could practice and rest. The Kraken not only played Thursday night, but tonight will be their eighth game in 14 days. Hopefully, the Devils can use the rest advantage and control play down the stretch.

Facing Grubauer

Phillip Grubauer has not been good this season, simple as that. While record isn’t a good indicator of goalie play, a 1-7-0 one isn’t a good start. Pair that with an .862 save percentage (SV%) and a -6.45 goals saved above expected (GSAx) and you can see that in this instance the record is certainly an indication of his play.

However, in his career against the Devils, the veteran netminder has been quite solid. In seven games with three teams over eight years, Grubauer has a 5-2-0 record and .920 SV%. On the other hand, in his Kraken career, Grubauer is 1-2-0 versus the Devils with an .899 SV%. It will be interesting to see how tonight’s game goes with Grubauer most likely manning the net for Seattle.

Where To Watch

Friday’s game at the Prudential Center can be seen on MSG SportsNet at 7:00 pm ET.