The New Jersey Devils head to Raleigh to take on the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs tonight. The Devils defeated the Rangers in Game 7 on Monday to advance while the Hurricanes eliminated the Islanders in six games. In the regular season, New Jersey went 2-1-1 against Carolina.
Match Overview
The biggest Devils’ lineup question after the Rangers series is the health of Timo Meier. The 26-year-old winger took a huge hit from Jacob Trouba in the third period on Monday and remained down on the ice for several minutes. After going to the locker room, Meier returned to the bench in the closing moments, but did not get back on the ice. Per Sam Kasan, head coach Lindy Ruff is “anticipating good news,” but Meier is still being evaluated.
Akira Schmid is expected to get the start once again. The 22-year-old Swiss netminder is 4-1 this postseason with a .951 save percentage and 5.81 goals saved above expected (GSAx).
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes have some injuries of their own. Max Pacioretty and Andrei Svechnikov were out for the season entering the postseason. Teuvo Teravainen broke his hand against the Islanders and is out for an extended period.
Against New York, Sebastian Aho led the way for the ‘Canes. The Finnish center had four goals and three assists in seven games. Brett Burns had a productive series on the blue line as well, picking up five assists.
Starting netminder Frederick Andersen returned from injury in Game Six, stopping 33 of 34 shots faced and 1.88 goals above expected to close out the Islanders. Backup Antti Raanta played relatively well in the first five games, posting a .906 save percentage and a 1.68 GSAx.
Projected Lines
New Jersey Devils
The Devils did not skate on Tuesday, so stayed tuned to our social channels closer to puck drop for tonight’s line combos.
Carolina Hurricanes
Forwards
Noesen – Aho – Jarvis
Martinook – Kotkaniemi – Fast
Drury – Staal – Necas
Stastny – Stepan – Puljujarvi
Defensemen
Slavin – Burns
Skjei – Pesce
Gostisbehere – Chatfield
Goaltenders
Andersen
Raanta
What To Watch For
Nico Hischier
Despite not scoring in the first round, Nico Hischier may have been the Devils’ best player. The captain led the team with a 69.14 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) at five-on-five. High-danger chances were 30-11 in favor of New Jersey with Hischier on the ice. Hischier did pick up five assists, with one in each of the final five games of round one.
The Devils were able to survive the Rangers without Hischier chipping in any goals, but they will need those to come around. Hischier had a career-high 31 goals in the regular season, but has scored just once in his last 19 games dating back to the regular season.
A similar case can be made for Timo Meier. Meier netted 40 goals in the regular season, but went without a point in the first round. However, Meier had a 67.16 xGF% at five-on-five and had a 39-17 edge in high-danger chances. If Meier is healthy and playing, the Devils will need goals from him as well.
Siegenthaler-Hamilton Pairing
Somewhat quietly, the Devils’ top defensive pairing had a very solid series at five-on-five. The duo led Devils’ defensemen with Hamilton posting a 62.68 xGF with Siegenthaler having 61.83 in round one. Both had a 66.67 share of the high-danger chances as well.
On top of the strong five-on-five play, Siegenthaler was tremendous on the penalty kill. In just under 14 minutes of penalty kill time with Siegenthaler on the ice, the Devils actually outscored the Rangers 1-0.
After returning to the lineup in Game 3 after being scratched, Siegenthaler was terrific and was a big part of the Devils limiting the Rangers’ power play after two dominant performances.
Devils’ Power Play
The Devils’ power play struggled in the first round against the Rangers. New Jersey converted four of 24 power play attempts for a 16.7-percent clip. However, only one of those goals came from New Jersey’s top unit.
Carolina has one of the league’s best penalty kills as well. In the regular season, Carolina was second to only Boston with a 84.4-percent kill. The ‘Canes held a subpar Islanders’ power play to just 5.6 percent in round one.
Head-to-head this year, the Devils went 0-for-13 against the Hurricanes with the man advantage while Carolina netted four shorthanded goals across three of the four regular season matchups.
All year, the Hurricanes penalty kill absolutely owned the Devils power play. If New Jersey can swing that matchup in their favor, or at the very least, cut down on the shorthanded goals against, that could make the difference in the series.
Where to Watch
The Devils and Hurricanes will be on ESPN tonight with puck drop set for 7:00 p.m. ET.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.