The New Jersey Devils (5-4-1) host the New York Islanders (2-2-2) Friday night. This is the second half of a back-to-back for New Jersey, who fell 5-3 in Detroit on Thursday. The Devils have now lost three straight. Meanwhile, the Islanders got blanked by the Red Wings 1-0 in their last action on Tuesday. This is the first meeting of the season between the Metropolitan division rivals.
Match Overview
Despite the loss, Thursday was a good day for the Devils on the injury front. Both Brett Pesce and Luke Hughes returned to the lineup, and head coach Sheldon Keefe put them together on the third defensive pair. This was the first time in the young season New Jersey was fully available to play, so Keefe pulled Simon Nemec and Daniil Misyul from the lineup.
In net, the Devils will likely give the start to Jake Allen. For the season, Allen hasn’t been stellar with a .880 save percentage, allowing 0.64 goals above expected, but his last start on Tuesday was a real clunker. Against Tampa Bay, Allen allowed eight goals on 37 shots, surrendering 3.76 goals above expected.
Meanwhile, the Islanders have had a slow start offensively. Defenseman Noah Dobson leads New York with four points, all assists, in six games. Offseason acquisition Anthony Duclair had been off to a hot start with three points in five games, but a lower-body injury suffered last week is expected to sideline him for 4-6 weeks. Several other Islanders sit at the three point mark including former Devil Kyle Palmieri.
In net, Ilya Sorokin has been tremendous to start the year. The 29-year-old has posted a .947 save percentage and a 2.25 goals saved above expected (GSAx) in three starts.
Projected Lines
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Meier – Hischier – Mercer
Palat – Hughes – Bratt
Cotter – Haula – Noesen
Tatar – Lazar – Bastian
Defensemen
Dillon – Hamilton
Siegenthaler – Kovacevic
Hughes – Pesce
Goaltenders
Allen
Markstrom
New York Islanders
Forwards
Holmstrom – Horvat – Barzal
Tsyplakov – Nelson – Palmieri
Lee – Pageau – Wahlstrom
Cizikas – MacLean – Foudy
Defensemen
Romanov – Dobson
Pelech – Pulock
Reilly – Mayfield
Goaltenders
Sorokin
Varlamov
What To Watch For
Hughes-Pesce Pairing
Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce both made their season debuts on Thursday and will likely stay paired up on Friday. It wasn’t the perfect start for the duo, with Hughes posting a 38.49 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) at five-on-five, the lowest among New Jersey skaters. Pesce was slightly better at 48.86.
However, shaking up the pairs doesn’t make much sense just yet. Both Hughes and Pesce are getting up to game speed and will improve. Meanwhile, the other four Devils defensemen all posted an xGF% north of 75.00 on Thursday, with the Jonas Siegenthaler and Jonathan Kovacevic pairing both north of 83.00. Even with an average-at-best start from the Hughes and Pesce pairing, there is little to gain from Sheldon Keefe shuffling the pairs with everyone else playing so well.
Jack Hughes
An encouraging sign from Thursday’s loss was the five-on-five dominance from Jack Hughes. The 23-year-old was second among New Jersey forwards with a 78.09 xGF% and led the team with a 72.09 Corsi-for percentage (CF%).
On top of that, the Devils had a 15-4 edge in scoring chances with Hughes on the ice at five-on-five. It has been an up-and-down start for Hughes following off-season surgery, but it appears the 2019 first overall pick might be rounding into form.
Nico Hischier
Just as the Devils are built around Jack Hughes, this team’s nucleus also includes Nico Hischier. The 2017 first overall pick had a tremendous night of his own, scoring twice and firing a career-high nine shots on net.
Hischier had a strong night with a 73.92 xGF% and a 3-0 edge in high-danger chances at five-on-five. However, he really stood out in terms of his individual expected goals figure (ixG). Hischier finished with a 1.13 ixG at all situations, easily the highest on the team with Jack Hughes second with a 0.55 ixG.
This New Jersey team needs both of its top centers to be stars to get back to the playoffs after a disappointing 2023-2024, and so far, both are looking the part.
Where To Watch
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 ET on MSGSN.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.