After a demoralizing 4-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, the New Jersey Devils (30-26-4) will wrap up their West Coast road trip against the Los Angeles Kings (30-19-10) at Crypto.com Arena.
Alarm bells are ringing in New Jersey after the loss to the lowly Ducks. They took care of business against the San Jose Sharks but fell in heartbreaking fashion after throwing everything they had at Anaheim. Despite strong possession control and plenty of “grade-A” chances, their lack of finishing ability killed their chances.
The team was visibly frustrated after the game. Head coach Lindy Ruff praised the team’s dominance but admitted he was confused as to why they couldn’t get the result they were looking for. Jack Hughes was on the verge of tears in his interview after missing his penalty shot.
Los Angeles is in the thick of the playoff race but that’s not where they want to be. They started the year 16-4-3 but have since gone 14-15-7. They were bound to regress based on the stellar goaltending and finishing they got to start the year but they certainly didn’t expect to go this far in the other direction. With strong positioning in the Western Conference wild card race, they’ll look for a big win against New Jersey before possibly buying at the trade deadline. The Kings are coming off a 5-1 win over the Canucks on Thursday.
The Devils are in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division, seven points behind the third-place Flyers and eight behind the Lightning for the last wild card spot. The Kings sit fourth in the Pacific and lead the wild card race. The Kings beat the Devils 2-1 in their last meeting on February 15th.
Lines and Pairings
Devils-
Forwards
Meier-Hischier-Bratt
Palat-Hughes-Lazar
Toffoli-Haula-Mercer
Miller-Tierney-Holtz
Defense
Bahl-Marino
Hughes-Smith
Siegenthaler-Nemec
Goalies
Daws
Schmid
Kings-
Forwards
Turcotte-Kopitar-Byfield
Fiala-Danault-Moore
Anderson Dolan-DuBois-Laferriere
Lewis-Lizotte-Clarke
Defense
Moverare-Doughty
Gavrikov-Roy
Englund-Spence
Goalies
Talbot
Rittich
Keys to the Game
Kevin Bahl Bounces Back
Though he usually plays in a bottom-four role, Kevin Bahl was solid in February. He led the blue line with an expected goal percentage (xG%) of 65.31. He also allowed very few high-danger chances, achieving a 60.61 high-danger Corsi-for percentage (HDCF%). Over this stretch, he averaged a great Game Score of 1.64.
He struggled against Anaheim, however, posting a -1.85 Game Score. His defensive blunder almost single-handedly gave the Ducks a goal. Amid all the chaos on the Devils right now, a good performance from Kevin Bahl is just what the team needs.
Who Gets the Start?
Once again, the Devils are searching for consistent goaltending. Nico Daws temporarily provided the solution but, save for a quality start against San Jose, he’s struggled as of late. Over his past five starts, He has a .830 save percentage (SV%) and -7.36 goals saved above expected (GSAx). Akira Schmid replaced him in the third period of Friday’s contest after he allowed four goals on 14 shots.
But Schmid has had his struggles too. Over 17 games this season, he has a SV% of .895 and -1.9 GSAx. He was demoted to Utica (AHL) for an extended period, where he performed poorly. Lindy Ruff is in a tough spot; he has two subpar choices in net.
Where to Watch
Today’s game can be seen on TNT at 3:30 pm ET.