The New Jersey Devils (6-1) are rolling and they continue their homestand. Coming into town are the San Jose Sharks (1-4-2), who won their first game of the season just last night. This game for the Sharks is the second of a back-to-back set, playing New York Rangers the night before.
Matchup Overview
The Devils are on an absolute roll. Ever since losing the game on opening night to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Devils have won five six and are playing a strong brand of hockey. The beautiful sight is that the Devils are getting contributions from everyone across the board.
Jesper Bratt leads the team in points. Jack Hughes has been held pointless in only two games and has six goals over the last four games. Dawson Mercer is a point-per-game player to begin the season and Arseny Gritsyuk scored his first NHL goal against the Minnesota Wild Wednesday night.
Losing Jacob Markström hasn’t been an issue for the Devils. Jake Allen has held his own in net, having a 1.91 goals against average, a .931 save percentage, and 2.8 goals saved above expected. Everything is clicking right for this Devils team and they are playing good hockey and it should continue against a struggling Sharks team.
The Sharks have been a struggle. They’ve began the season as the worst defensive team in the league. They have young high profile players, but their inability to defend has been troublesome. The Sharks have allowed three or more goals in every game they’ve played in this season. As a team, they get caved in their own end with having a CF% of 43.25 (31st).
Projected Lineups
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Palat-Hughes-Bratt
Meier-Hischier-Gritsyuk
Cotter-Mercer-Brown
Halonen-Glendenning-Noesen
Defense
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Hughes-Pesce
Dillon-Nemec
Goalies
Allen
Daws
San Jose Sharks
Forwards
Toffoli-Celebrini-Smith
Eklund-Wennberg-Skinner
Graf-Misa-Gaudette
Goodrow-Dellandrea-Reaves
Defense
Orlov-Ferraro
Leddy-Iorio
Dickinson-Desharnais
Goalies
Askarov
Nedeljkovic
What to Watch For
High-Danger Areas
Sounds cliche right? But the recipe for the Devils success in this game will be to get to the high-danger areas of the ice. As a defensive team, the Sharks have given up the 12th-most high-danger chances. While they’ve done a good job limiting chances in the inner slot in the middle of the ice, teams have feasted on their opportunities right in front of the goal crease.
The Devils have gotten their looks (eighth-most high danger chances) and have cashed in on their opportunities. Yaroslav Askarov will tend the crease for the Sharks and he has struggled mightily stopping shots from in close.
Overall, Askarov has a subpar .579 high-danger save percentage this season. Of the 17 goals he’s allowed this season, 11 have come from the high-danger areas of the ice.
Jack Hughes’ Continued Dominance
When Jack Hughes is healthy it is an amazing sight to see. Hughes is dynamic and anything is possible when the puck hits his stick. Between him and Bratt, the combination has been quite lethal to start the year, as the duo have combined for 20 points in seven games. But Hughes has been stellar, with points in four of his last five. Scoring has been on full display compared to his play making ability.
The biggest part about his production this month is that it’s come at five-on-five play. Overall, when on the ice, Hughes has 5.56 xGF, which is the highest among all the Devils forwards.
He’s been doing quite well to begin the season and his point streak should continue against what’s been a poor defense. In nine games against the Sharks in his career, he has three goals and three assists.
How to Watch
Friday’s puck drop is at 7:00 pm ET and can be found on MSG.