Overview

Tonight, the New Jersey Devils open their preseason with a pair of split-squad games. Half of the training camp roster will stay in New Jersey to take on the Philadelphia Flyers and the other half will travel to Montreal to take on the Canadiens. With vets looking to get in tune before the season starts and rookies looking to make an impact and the final 23-man squad, it should be an interesting start to the preseason.

For those curious, Travis Green, Sergei Brylin, and Kevin Dineen will be coaching the team in Montreal. Meanwhile, Ryan McGill, Chris Taylor, and another AHL coach will coach against Philadelphia. Head coach Lindy Ruff and general manager Tom Fitzgerald will be in New Jersey watching from the press box. This per Amanda Stein.

Note, Luke Hughes will not play in either game as he is working his way back from injury. He is on schedule.

Lines and Pairings

Devils

Against Philadelphia (per Sam Kasan) –

Forwards: Alexander Holtz, Tyce Thompson, Nico Hischier, Shane Bowers, Ondrej Palat, Michael McLeod, Timo Meier, Brian Halonen, Ryan Schmelzer, Erik Haula, Jesper Bratt, Josh Filmon

Defensemen: Brendan Smith, Dougie Hamilton, Cal Foote, Daniil Misyul, Santeri Hatakka, Kevin Bahl

Goalies: Vitek Vanecek, Erik Källgren

*- Vanecek is expected to start. He is projected to get the first two periods before giving way to Källgren, per Amanda Stein.

Against Montreal (per Mike Morreale)

Forwards: Graeme Clarke, Kyle Criscuolo, Justin Dowling, Nolan Foote, Joseph Gambardella, Jack Hughes, Curtis Lazar, Dawson Mercer, Tomas Nosek, Chris Tierney, Tyler Toffoli, Max Willman.

Defensemen: John Marino, Colin Miller, Simon Nemec, Jonas Siegenthaler, Topias Vilen, Michael Vukojevic

Goalies: Akira Schmid, Keith Kinkaid

*- Schmid is expected to start. He is projected to get the first two periods before giving way to Källgren, per Amanda Stein.

Flyers & Canadiens

It appears the Flyers will be bringing a decent team to Newark to face the Devils, per this tweet.

Meanwhile, the Canadians are rolling out a group more focused on younger players, per this tweet.

Keys to the Game

Holtz and Nemec Look to Make a Difference 

Of all the Devils’ first-round picks of the general manager Tom Fitzgerald regime, Alexander Holtz and Simon Nemec are the two with the biggest question marks. Both being former top-ten picks, they should both have a rejuvenated energy coming into camp this year. Each will be fighting tooth and nail to make the final roster.

Nemec, specifically, has stated it is his goal to make the team this season. Going into last year, the young defenseman told the media that he wouldn’t mind spending the year in Utica (AHL). That mindset has changed this year as Nemec feels he is ready for the NHL.

Rebuilding Year

The NHL seems to be getting tougher and tougher each year with more and more teams aiming to make the playoffs and compete for the cup. That mindset is true for many teams but not the two New Jersey is facing.

The Flyers and Canadiens are two teams that fans and experts alike have predicted to finish towards the bottom of the league standings. This isn’t by accident however, with the quality of talent on both rosters it is clear that these two teams are going to spend the year rebuilding. At the end of it all, the hope within both organizations is to win the draft lottery and first pick.