Tonight, the New Jersey Devils (0-0-0) drop the puck on the 2023-2024 season against the Detroit Red Wings (0-0-0) in Newark. The Devils are looking to keep the momentum going after a 7-0-0 preseason. This is also the second-straight year New Jersey hosts Detroit in the home opener.
Match Overview
It’s been six days since the last preseason contest for New Jersey, and it’s been relatively smooth-sailing as a result. Forward Erik Haula missed a few practices over the last week with a day-to-day injury, but was a full participant on Wednesday, per Amanda Stein. He is expected to play.
In net, Vitek Vanecek is expected to start with Akira Schmid backing him up. Last season, Vanecek posted a .911 save percentage and a 9.21 goals saved above expected (GSAx) in 52 regular season games. For his part, Schmid posted a .922 save percentage and a 7.02 GSAx in 18 games.
As for Detroit, depth options Matt Luft and Carter Mazur are starting the season on Injured Reserve, but otherwise, the Wings are at full strength for opening night.
Ville Husso is expected to start in goal. The 28-year-old Finnish netminder had a difficult first season in Detroit last year with a .896 save percentage and a 17.03 GSAx. James Reimer will be the backup with third goaltender Alex Lyon likely a healthy scratch.
Projected Lines
Detroit Red Wings
Forwards
DeBrincat – Larkin – Perron
Fabbri – Compher – Raymond
Sprong – Copp – Rasmussen
Kostin – Veleno – Fischer
Defensemen
Walman – Seider
Chiarot – Petry
Gostisbehere – Maatta
Goaltenders
Husso
Reimer
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Meier – Hischier – Mercer
Toffoli – Hughes – Bratt
Palat – Haula – Holtz
Nosek – McLeod – Lazar
Defensemen
Siegenthaler – Hamilton
Bahl – Marino
Hughes – Smith
Goaltenders
Vanecek
Schmid
What To Watch For
The Power Play
Despite the 7-0-0 preseason, the Devils actually looked fairly pedestrian when digging into the advanced metrics. In fact, New Jersey lost the Corsi-for and expected goals-for battles in four of their seven contests. One thing that pushed them to such an impressive record was a red-hot power play.
New Jersey went eight-for-21 on the man advantage in the preseason, a 38.1% clip. Of course, that is an unsustainable rate with such a small sample size, but last season, the Devils’ power play ranked 13th in the league at 21.9%. If New Jersey can vault into the top-10 this year, expect plenty more regular season success.
The Third Line
Ondrej Palat, Erik Haula, and Alexander Holtz are projected to form the Devils’ third line tonight. The trio did not play together during the preseason after Holtz skated with Nico Hischier and Timo Meier.
However, it was tough sledding for Palat and Haula together. In just over 30 minutes of ice time at five-on-five, the pair of forwards had a 32.14 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 33.58 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%). In the regular season, New Jersey will need a lot more from that third line, especially with how Lindy Ruff likes to cycle all four of his lines.
The Third Defensive Pairing
Just as the third forward line struggled in the preseason, the Devils had difficulty finding a third defensive pair that clicked after losing Damon Severson and Ryan Graves in the offseason. Luke Hughes, Brendan Smith, and Colin Miller all struggled to varying degrees.
Tonight, it looks like that third pair will be Hughes and Smith. In 14 minutes of action in the preseason, that pair got absolutely caved, posting a 21.05 CF% and a 5.22 xGF% at five-on-five. Those are horrific numbers and absolutely need to improve as the regular season kicks off.
Where To Watch
Puck drop from the Prudential Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. ESPN+ and Hulu will be exclusively broadcasting the contest.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.