The road trip for the New Jersey Devils (31-30-4) continues. After suffering defeat to their rivals in the New York Rangers, the Devils travel south to Texas. Awaiting them is the Dallas Stars, who are coming off a tough comeback defeat to the Florida Panthers two days ago.
The playoff race for the Devils still remains. They currently sit six points out of the second wild card spot and eight points back of the Flyers for third place in the division. Getting the two points won’t be easy, especially for the Stars who will need them just as much. The Central Division has become a two point race and the Stars do not have games in hand.
Match Overview
This is the second and final meeting of the season for these two teams. The Stars took the first game in convincing fashion, defeating the Devils 6-2 at the Prudential Center. The Stars arsenal of weapons was on full display that game and will look to capitalize against a Devils team that sold some pieces at the deadline.
Each team looks a little different from the last meeting. The Stars added defenseman Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames and have also been ignited by the emergence of the recently called up forward Logan Stankoven. Stankoven has been a point per game player for the Stars, giving them an extra weapon. The Devils parted ways with Tyler Toffoli, who coincidentally scored in the first meeting with the Stars and also said goodbye to Colin Miller. However, they did add goaltenders Jake Allen and Kaapo Kahkonen.
Both teams do have key injuries, as the Stars are without Tyler Seguin and Jonas Siegenthaler for the Devils is out for an extended period of time with a concussion. Also, John Marino is out with an upper-body injury, he’s being listed as “day-to-day.” The team announced that they’ve recalled Santeri Hatakka and Tyler Wotherspoon from the Utica Comets (AHL) to round out the blue line. They also recalled forward Max Willman.
Projected Lineup
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Palat-Hischier-Meier
Hughes-Haula-Bratt
Tierney-Lazar-Mercer
Macdermid-Nosek-Holtz
Defense
Hughes-Nemec
Bahl-Desimone
Hatakka-Smith
Goalies
Kahkonen
Daws
Dallas Stars
Forwards
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Marchment-Duchene-Steel
Benn-Johnston-Stankoven
Dellandrea-Faksa-Smith
Defense
Harley-Heiskanen
Lindell-Tanev
Suter-Hakanpaa
Goalies
Oettinger
Wedgewood
What to Watch For
Jesper Bratt to Come Alive
It is no secret that Jesper Bratt is one of the Devils best players. In fact, he leads the team in points with 64 and impacts the game heavily when on the ice. However, it has been a bit of a cold spell for him this month. For the Devils fortunes to take a turn, they’ll need him to turn on the jets and regain his scoring touch.
Bratt has not scored a goal since the start of their road trip in California. Furthermore, he has just three points in the month of March, with two coming in the same game. With the Devils needing help in front of them and taking care of business themselves, getting Bratt going and lighting the lamp is a good start offensively.
Prepare to Counter the Stars Offense
The Dallas Stars offense is deep and they have three lines they can count on for goals. The top two lines are as good as any for the Stars and Wyatt Johnston and Logan Stankoven have developed good chemistry with one another. The top line of Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, and Joe Pavelski has scored 34 goals as a line, which is good for fourth among qualified trios. For the Devils, they’ll want to counter their offensive attack and it won’t be easy.
How to Watch
Tonight’s puck drop is at 8:00 pm ET and can be found on MSG.