The New Jersey Devils continue their western road trip. After playing the Vegas Golden Knights Wednesday night, the Devils travel to Utah to take on the Mammoth. This is the first time that these two teams will meet this season.
Matchup Overview
The injury bug has hit these two teams hard. The Devils are still without their superstar center in Jack Hughes, but also are missing Timo Meier (leave of absence) and now defenseman Simon Nemec. Luckily, the team did recently get some good news as Brett Pesce returned to game action against the Golden Knights.
At five-on-five, the Devils put forth a good performance against Vegas on Wednesday, which carried over from their stellar effort against the Canucks. They finished with a 53.33 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 51.70 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%).
Overall, life has been up and down for the Devils. Over the last 10 games, the Devils dropped the first five and have now won three of their last five games. Luckily, the Eastern Confetence has been inconsistent and the Devils can tread water.
The Mammoth are without one of their best young centers in Logan Cooley, who is on injured reserve. Cooley has 23 points, but is second on the team in goals trailing only JJ Peterka by two. He’s a key part of their offense and someone they miss down the middle.
The Mammoth are just as inconsistent as the Devils have been. They are 6-4 in their last 10 games and after a tough three game homestand, they managed to put together a good three game road trip. They won their last matchup and travel home to take on a more confident Devils group.
Projected Lineup
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Bratt- Hischier-Mercer
Palat-Glass-Brown
Cotter-Lammikko-Noesen
Parent-Glendening-Crookshank
Defense
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Hughes-Pesce
Dillon-White
Goalies
Allen
Markstrom
Utah Mammoth
Keller-Schmaltz-Peterka
Crouse-Hayton-Guenther
Carcone-McBain-But
O’Brien-Stenlund-Yamamoto
Defense
Sergachev-Durzi
Schmidt-Marino
Cole-Desimone
Goalies
Vejmelka
Vanecek
What to Watch For
Devils Look to Generate Quality Chances
The Mammoth are a very interesting hockey team. Their power play struggles, but their penalty kill is top 10 in the league. Also, they sit fifth in goals scored, but defensively are a mystery.
When it comes to shot suppression, the Mammoth average 25.14 shots against per game, which is the second fewest. However, the shots that they do allow are quality ones. At five-on-five, they allow 11 high-danger changes per game and the eighth-most high danger chances overall.
The Devils have scored the sixth-fewest high-danger goals at five-on-five this season. Given their struggles at even strength, if they are given the real estate for quality looks they need to take them.
Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt
With the losses of Hughes and Meier, the Devils need their two best players in the lineup to be their best players. They need every ounce of offense they can get.
This month, the Devils duo has combined for two goals. Hischier has three points, whereas Bratt has five. Of his four assists, three are primary so at least the plays are being set up for goals. It’s not for a lack of effort though.
Through the nine games, Hischier has an expected goals-for percentage of 53.14 and Bratt is at 60.37. Puck possession is in the Devils favor when they are on the ice, but opponents are out scoring them 15-3. They are doing everything right offensively, but the results need to come.
How to Watch
Puck drop is at 9:00 pm ET and can be found on MSG.