After what was a dreadful trip on the west coast, the New Jersey Devils return home. In breaking news on Monday, the Devils fired head coach Lindy Ruff and moved Travis Green as the interim head coach.
Meanwhile, the results were much to be desired, as they walked away with two out of six potential points. It was a missed opportunity, as the club continues to fade away from the playoff race. The Devils currently sit eight points out of both the second wild card spot and third place in the division. Although, they do have multiple games in hand.
Coming to Prudential Center is a red-hot Florida Panthers team that currently is the best team in hockey. They sit in a much different spot than the Devils, but these two points hold meaning for them as well. A tough matchup awaits the Devils, as the Panthers are no slouch of a hockey team.
Match Overview
This is the third matchup between these two teams, with each winning one game each. The Panthers took the first meeting (4-3) and the Devils won the second meeting (4-1). This matchup has more weight to it, as the playoff race is heating up. For the Devils, these next two games can dictate their plans for the trade deadline which is Friday (March 8).
Florida is coming off a monster month of February as they’ve won 10 games and lost two. Currently, the Panthers are on a five-game winning streak and have outscored their opponents 18-9. They are coming off a 4-2 victory the night prior to the Rangers, so tired legs are entering New Jersey.
For the Devils, they’ll look to come out rejuvenated on home ice and right the ship. Since the big win at the Stadium Series, the team is 2-5-0 and has taken a skid at the wrong time. This is a good test for the Devils, in what is Travis Green’s first game as the interim head coach.
Projected Lineup
Florida Panthers
Forwards
Verhaeghe-Barkov-Reinhart
Cousins-Bennett-Tkachuk
Luostarinen-Lundell-Rodrigues
Gadjovich-Stenlund-Lomberg
Defense
Forsling-Ekblad
Mikkola-Montour
Ekman-Larsson-Kulikov
Goalies
Stolarz
Bobrovsky
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Meier-Hischier-Bratt
Palat-Hughes-Toffoli
Lazar-Haula-Mercer
Macdermid-Nosek-Holtz
Defense
Siegenthaler-Nemec
Bahl-Marino
Hughes-Miller
Goalies
Schmid
Daws
What to Watch For
Have a Strong Start
The Devils have given up for the first goal a lot this season. Given the coaching change, the Devils are looking for a spark and a turning of the tides. With the team returning on home ice, having a strong start is huge, especially against the Florida Panthers.
Falling behind is not ideal for the Devils because the Panthers can attack in waves. They are also one of the strongest teams at five-on-five play and defend well as a team. As a team, the Panthers allow the third fewest shot attempts and third fewest attempts from the high-danger areas per game. If you have an attempt that’s high quality, make it count.
Goaltending, Goaltending, Goaltending
With Sergei Bobrovsky playing the night before, the Devils will likely get to face Anthony Stolarz. Bobrovsky is the better of the two but Stolarz has been more than good enough. For the Devils, they’ll need to match that goaltending and get better results than they did the last two games of the road trip.
Nico Daws garnered the final two starts of the road trip and had similar results. He allowed four goals in each of the starts and was pulled in both games. Akira Schmid came in to relieve him and did well in relief. Goaltending has been the struggle point for the Devils all season and needing better results is a must.
How to Watch
Tonight’s puck drop is at 7:00 pm ET and can be found on MSG.