Overview

The New Jersey Devils (28-12-3) will face off against the San Jose Sharks (13-23-8) at SAP Center in a 4:00 matinee. The Devils won their last game against the Los Angeles Kings 5-2.

The Devils are thriving right now. Their win on Friday was their fourth in a row. They didn’t play exceptionally well, but they finished what seemed like every one of their chances. That’s a great sign because a lack of finishing was a key factor in the Devils’ disastrous month of December.

Thankfully, New Jersey has put that skid behind them with a 5-1-1 record so far in the month of January. The Devils will look to continue their goal-scoring against a flailing Sharks team.

The Devils are in second place in the Metropolitan Division, just three points behind the Carolina Hurricanes. Conversely, the Sharks are in seventh place in the Pacific Division, only ahead of the woeful Ducks.

Lines and Pairings

Devils-

Forwards:

Palat-Hischier-Bratt

Haula-Hughes-Tatar

Foote-Sharangovich-Wood

Boqvist-McLeod-Mercer

Defense:

Siegenthaler-Hamilton

Graves-Severson

Okhotyuk-Smith

Goalies:

Vanecek

Blackwood

Sharks-

Forwards:

Meier-Hertl-Eyssimont

Nieto-Couture-Barabanov

Bonino-Strum-LaBanc

Lindblom-Lorentz-Gadjovich

Defense:

Megna-Karlsson

Benning-Ferraro

Cicek-Vlasic

Goalies:

Reimer

Kakkonen

Keys to the Game

Finish Chances, Get Goals

As mentioned above, the Devils have been a lot better at finishing their chances as of late. Last month, New Jersey frustratingly made almost every goalie they faced look like a Vezina candidate, harkening back to last season when they couldn’t finish a chance to save their lives.

During that span, they had a shooting percentage of just 6.3%. However, this month, they’ve increased that number to 12.65%, six whole points. This has led to a rash of goal-scoring, they’ve scored at least four in each of their last four games.

Is it puck luck or is it a change in shot quality? Probably a bit of both. Regardless, the Devils need to continue sniping the back of the net today.

Get the Goaltending Going

The Devils have gotten some stellar goaltending recently. On Friday, Mackenzie Blackwood stood tall in net, stopping 35 of 37 shots for a .946 save percentage.

On top of that, Vitek Vanecek hasn’t had a bad start in what seems like ages, with his last dud coming against the Hurricanes on December 20.

If the Devils can keep their two goalies hot, they can dominate even if their offense stumbles, something you couldn’t say last season.

Where To Watch

This afternoon’s game is set for a 4:00 P.M. ET puck drop. The game can be seen on MSGSN.