After a 5-2 win over the Rangers on Wednesday, the New Jersey Devils (6-0-0) will look to remain perfect in the preseason against the New York Islanders (2-3-0) Friday on Long Island. The Devils have cruised through their exhibition slate thus far; and despite some rougher periods, New Jersey is rounding into form nicely.

The last time they played the Islanders, they won despite letting up five goals. This is the final preseason game for the Devils.

Lines and Pairings

Devils

Forwards: Nathan Bastian, Justin Dowling, Joe Gambardella, Alexander Holtz, Curtis Lazar, Michael McLeod, Dawson Mercer, Tomas Nosek, Ryan Schmelzer, Tyce Thompson, Chris Tierney, Max Willman

Defensemen: Kevin Bahl, Colin Miller, Simon Nemec, Santeri Hatakka, Luke Hughes, Brendan Smith

Goalies: Akira Schmid, Isaac Poulter

Islanders

No formal news on lines or lineups for the Islanders, but appears – per the this report – that New York may be icing a NHL-level lineup.

Keys to the Game

Toffoli, Hughes, and Bratt Line to Rebound

“TBH” the Toffoli-Hughes-Bratt line wasn’t on their game against the Rangers. They could not control the game when they were on the ice, posting an abysmal 16.67 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and an 18.76 expected goal percentage (xG%). They did all this while playing the least amount of minutes of the four main lines with 9:04 of ice time.

The Holtz-Hischier-Meier line, expected to be New Jersey’s other top-six grouping, put up a CF% of 75.00 and a 97.87 xG%.

Other than Wednesday’s game, the “TBH” line has been great. They scored four of the Devils’ six goals against the Islanders on Monday and dominated possession. Look for the Hughes line to have a nice rebound game against a team they just beat up on.

Play a Full 60 Minutes

The Devils have looked great this preseason, but recently, they’ve been letting their foot off the gas pedal in the third period. This was especially clear against the Rangers. New Jersey dominated possession during the first two frames, but let the Rangers back in the game in the third.

They controlled a measly 20.00 CF% and a 7.44 xG%. It wasn’t much better on Monday against the Islanders, when they put up a 44.44 CF% and a 23.36 xG% in the third period. The Devils cannot afford to play 40 minutes of hockey in the regular season, so now is the perfect time to get up to game speed for a full game.

Where To Watch

Tonight’s game can be seen on MSG and MSGN at 7:00 pm EST.