After winning their last five, the New Jersey Devils (5-1-0) return home Wednesday night looking to extend their streak against the Minnesota Wild (3-3-1).
The Devils are coming off another impressive victory, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 5–2 on the road last night. Jack Hughes continued his dominant stretch with a hat trick, while Jake Allen stopped 23 shots to secure New Jersey’s fifth straight win.
Game Overview
Everything seems to be clicking for the Devils, who have established themselves early as one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference. Since dropping their season opener in Carolina, they’ve rattled off five straight wins and now sit atop the Metropolitan Division.
These wins haven’t come against weak competition, either. Four of the Devils’ five victories have been against playoff teams from last season and the Wild are no exception.
Notably, it’ll be Nico Daws in net for the Devils Wednesday night. Daws was recalled following the injury to Jacob Markström. Daws has a career -6.74 goals saved above expected, but turned in his best stretch at the NHL level last season when he posted a 0.939 save percentage over six games.
Minnesota will head to Newark coming off an impressive 3-1 win over the Rangers on Monday. After a first round exit last year, all eyes will now be on star player Kirill Kaprisov after his extension. The Russian superstar agreed to an eight-year $136 million contract ($17 million annually). The richest in NHL history.
Since signing that deal Kaprisov has proved he’s worth every penny leading the team with five goals and 10 points in the team’s first seven games. Him and the Wild will look to end New Jersey’s longest win streak since 2023.
Lines and Pairings
Devils
Forwards
Palat-Hughes-Bratt
Meier- Hichier- Mercer
Gritsyuk-Glass-Brown
Cotter-Glendening-Noesen
Defence
Hughes- Pesce
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Dillon-Nemec
Goalies
Daws
Allen
Wild
Forwards
Kaprizov-Eriksson Ek- Boldy
Johansson-Hartman-Tarasenko
Foligno-Yurov-Hinostroza
Trenin-Jones-Pitlick
Defence
Brodin-Faber
Buium-Spurgeon
Middleton-Jiricek
Goalies
Gustavsson
Wallstedt
Keys to The Game
Noesen’s Return
Wednesday night could mark the season debut of Stefan Noesen. In the first year of his second stint with the Devils, Noesen set new career-highs last season with 22 goals and 41 points. He was also a key contributor to New Jersey’s third best power play, scoring 11 goals on the man advantage. Now 32, Noesen will look to prove that last season’s breakout performance was no fluke.
Six?
Remember that 13-game win streak the Devils put together early in the 2022–23 season? It feels like ages ago, and it’s also the last time New Jersey won six in a row. Over the past two seasons, the Devils have struggled to sustain long winning streaks. Before their current run, they were 0-11-2 in their previous 13 attempts to win a fourth straight game. Now, under head coach Sheldon Keefe, the Devils will aim to extend their streak to six for the first time in nearly two years.
Where To Watch
Puck drop for Wednesday is set for 7:00 pm ET and can be found on MSG SportsNet.