The tough stretch of play to end the month of December continues, as New Jersey Devils lost to the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 just last night. The November magic has not been there, as the team is 0-4-1 in their last five games.
Entering the second of a back-to-back set of games, the Devils (21-8-2) travel further south to take on the Florida Panthers (15-13-4). These two teams met just a few days ago, with the Panthers taking the two points.
Things could get chippy in this game. It remains to be seen whether star center Aleksander Barkov remains out (game-time decision) but the Panthers certainly haven’t forgotten. Florida may be banged up, but the depth they have clears that up. With the Metropolitan Division becoming a dogfight, the Devils will look to right the ship to keep pace with everyone else as their division lead is slipping away.
Projected Lineups
New Jersey Devils –
Forwards:
Tatar-Hischier-Bratt
Sharangovich-Hughes-Mercer
Wood-Haula-Zetterlund
Boqvist-McLeod-Holtz
Defense:
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Graves-Marino
Smith-Severson
Goalies:
Blackwood
Vanecek
Florida Panthers –
Forwards:
Tkachuk–Bennett-White
Verhaeghe-Luostarainen-Reinhart
Lomberg-Staal-Cousins
Heponiemi-Dalpe-Denisenko
Defense:
Forsling-Ekblad
Staal-Montour
Mahura-Gudas
Goalies:
Bobrovsky
Knight
What To Watch For
Jesper Bratt
The scoring for the Devils has been down as of late. Despite out shooting their opponents and generating high danger chances the puck has not found the back of the net. One player in particular who has been in a slump is Jesper Bratt.
He has not scored a goal since the Chicago game (12/6), and has been held pointless in his last four games. He will be a player to watch for as he is a large part of the offensive attack and looks to break out of this slump.
Matthew Tkachuk
Who doesn’t love Matthew Tkachuk? The guy brings everything to the table. He is the team’s best player. Tkachuk leads the Panthers in points (39), assists (25), and is second in goals (14). He has 12 power play points to his name as well.
The Devils kept him in check all game last matchup, and it is something they will want to do again as he is the most dangerous threat when on the ice.
Where To Watch?
Tonight’s puck drop is at 7:30 P.M. and can be watched on TNT.