The New Jersey Devils (35-14-5) travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins (27-18-9) tonight. New Jersey is coming off a 4-2 loss to St. Louis on Thursday. Meanwhile, in their last contest, Pittsburgh lost in regulation to the Islanders on Friday 5-4.
This is the third meeting of the year between the Metropolitan Division rivals with the Devils winning both of the previous meetings.
Match Overview
The biggest news of Friday’s practice for New Jersey is that Jack Hughes will return to the lineup tonight. In four games without the 2019 first overall pick, the Devils went 2-1-1, but averaged just 2.50 goals per game. In practice, Hughes centered a line with Jesper Bratt and Yegor Sharangovich.
Mackenzie Blackwood got the start in St. Louis on Thursday, so expect to see Vitek Vanecek back in net against a divisional opponent tonight. On the season, Vanecek owns a .916 save percentage and a strong 13.36 goals save above expected (GSAx), but just over his past 13 games, his GSAx is a stellar 12.59. With this being the front end of a back-to-back for the Devils, Blackwood will likely be back between the pipes against Western Conference Winnipeg on Sunday. He has a .899 save percentage and a 1.61 GSAx on the year.
As for Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby continues to lead the team at age 35. The future Hall-of-Famer has 67 points in 54 games this year. Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel are the only other two Penguins to reach the 50 point mark this season at 54 and 50, respectively.
Tristan Jarry has been the Penguins starting netminder this season, but he is currently on long-term injured reserve. However, he did skate with the team Friday on Long Island, though the team is not sure if he’ll be activated for tonight. If Jarry does play, he owns a .921 save percentage and a 5.44 GSAx.
His backup, Casey DeSmith allowed five goals on 28 shots in Friday’s loss. DeSmith has played every game since the All-Star Break and has recorded a .904 save percentage and a 0.44 GSAx. If Jarry can’t go and Pittsburgh doesn’t want to play DeSmith back-to-back nights, Dustin Tokarski and his .893 save percentage and -0.15 GSAx will be in net tonight.
Projected Lines
New Jersey Devils –
Forwards:
Tatar – Hischier – Mercer
Sharangovich – Hughes – Bratt
Palat – Haula – Zetterlund
Wood – McLeod – Bastian
Defensemen:
Siegenthaler – Hamilton
Graves – Marino
Bahl – Severson
Goaltenders:
Vanecek
Blackwood
Pittsburgh Penguins –
Forwards:
Guentzel – Crosby – Rakell
Zucker – Malkin – Rust
McGinn – Carter – Kapanen
O’Connor – Blueger – Archibald
Defensemen:
Dumoulin – Letang
Petterson – Petry
Joseph – Ruhwedel
Goaltenders:
DeSmith
Tokarski
What To Watch For:
Jack Hughes
For the first time since February 6, Jack Hughes is back in the lineup for New Jersey. In the four games without Hughes, the offense struggled to the tune of 2.50 goals per game. The Devils only scored three goals in regulation in two of the four games, but one of those required John Marino to hit the empty net in a 3-1 win over the Kraken (the other was Ryan Graves’ literal last-second winner).
Getting Hughes back is obviously a massive boost to the offense. Despite missing the past four games, Hughes still leads the NHL with 24 goals at five-on-five. That’s two goals in front of second-place Jason Robertson and Connor McDavid, who have each played six more games.
On top of that, Hughes has scored in all but one game since December 30 and is currently on a nine game point streak. He has multiple points in five straight and seven of those nine games. All season, Hughes has been a force offensively, and his return to the lineup is a very welcomed addition.
Jesper Bratt
Jesper Bratt had an uncharacteristically rough night in St. Louis. The Swedish winger had a 56.76 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) at five-on-five, but his expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) was a woeful 33.64. That mark was the second-lowest on the team. On top of that, Bratt had the lowest game score among Devils’ players in the loss, per HockeyStatCards on Twitter.
All season, Bratt has had some of the best underlying metrics on the Devils. For the year, his 59.29 xGF% at five-on-five ranks third behind only Tomas Tatar and Jack Hughes. Look for Bratt to have a bounce-back night, especially since he looks to be back on Hughes’ win based on Friday’s practice.
The ‘BMW’ Line
With Jack Hughes returning to the lineup, head coach Lindy Ruff shook up three of the four Devils’ forward lines. The only one that remained the same is the ‘BMW’ line of Miles Wood, Michael McLeod, and Nathan Bastian.
Since Nathan Bastian returned to the lineup in Seattle on January 19, the ‘BMW’ line has not been able to regain its form from early in the season. The trio has just a 43.86 CF% and a 34.20 xGF% at five-on-five in the ten games since Bastian’s return. On top of this, high-danger chances are 15-9 in favor of the opponent with this line on the ice.
Of the three, the play of Miles Wood has been most concerning. The 27-year-old has registered a point in just two games since December 13. In addition, Bastian and McLeod have a 69.86 xGF% when playing without Wood since Bastian’s return while McLeod has a 64.22 xGF% without either linemate. Bastian owns a 67.67 xGF% without Wood and McLeod. However, Wood has just a 32.66 xGF% without Bastian and McLeod, per Natural Stat Trick’s line tool.
Clearly, Wood has been struggling the most of this trio at five-on-five. If the ‘BMW’ line continues to struggle and Lindy Ruff wants to bring Jesper Boqvist back into the lineup, Wood should be the player making way.
Where To Watch:
The Devils and Penguins are scheduled for an unusual 5:30 p.m. ET start time on MSG.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.