After a dominant 6-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday, the New Jersey Devils (32-30-4) will face the Arizona Coyotes (27-35-5) in Tempe this afternoon.
Thursday was a surprising win for a Devils team that had lost five of its last six games. Their offense came from odd contributors including Chris Tierney, Kurtis MacDermid, Nick DeSimone, and Tomas Nosek. They also got great goaltending from newcomer Jake Allen. New Jersey is hanging by a thread in the playoff race and a win against a struggling Coyotes team would go a long way.
Arizona started the year with some hope that their rebuild could take the next step but they have fallen to Earth as of late with a 2-4-0 record over their last six games. They aren’t the bottom-feeding team of the past, however, they can put up a fight. The Coyotes are coming off a win against another struggling team in Detroit. They’re in prime spoiler position again against the Devils.
The Devils are in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division with 68 points, four points out of the last wild card spot in the East. The Coyotes are in seventh place in the Central with 59 points.
Lines and Pairings
Devils-
Forwards
Hughes-Hischier-Mercer
Bratt-Haula-Meier
Palat-Nosek-Holtz
MacDermid-Tierney-Lazar
Defense
Hughes-Nemec
Bahl-DeSimone
Hatakka-Smith
Goalies
Allen
Kahkonen
Coyotes-
Forwards
Keller-Bjugstad-Schmaltz
Crouse-Cooley-Guenther
Maccelli-Kerfoot-Carcone
Leonard-McBain-O’Brien
Defense
Moser-Durzi
Valimaki-Kesselring
Dermott-Brown
Goalies
Ingram
Vejmelka
Keys to the Game
A Little Goaltending Goes a Long Way
Jake Allen shined in his Devils debut on Thursday, stopping 35 of 37 shots for a .946 SV% while also accruing a whopping 2.01 goals saved above expected (GSAx). This is huge for a team that had accrued -15.62 GSAx before the additions of Allen and Kaapo Kahkoven. While the offense shined on Thursday, Allen stole the spotlight, earning first-star honors.
Kahkonen had a less stellar but still solid debut against the Rangers, stopping 23 of 25 shots for a .920 SV% and earning 0.46 GSAx. Overall, it was a serviceable game for Kahkonen, who should slot into the backup role for now. If Allen and Kahkonen can prove these games weren’t flukes, the Devils may be in line for a win today and a possible stretch run.
Playoff Race Tightens
On trade deadline day, the Devils seemed to wave the white flag on their season. As fate would have it, however, their playoff hopes are still very much alive. As it stands, New Jersey sits four points behind the New York Islanders, who hold the final wild-card spot in the East. They are in a cutthroat battle with Detroit, Washington, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh.
The Devils have gotten some key help over the past few days: Edmonton beat Washington 7-2, St. Louis beat the Islanders, and Arizona beat Detroit. New Jersey capitalized on this help against the Stars but they must beat the Coyotes to pose a legitimate threat in the wild card race.
Where to Watch
Today’s game can be seen on MSGSN at 5:00 pm ET.