Preview: New Jersey Devils Aim to Build off Decisive Victory in St. Louis

The Devils will play the Blues for the first time in almost two years. (Image via. Sports Chat Place)

Introduction

The New Jersey Devils are headed to St. Louis tonight to face off against the Blues and try to build off their most decisive victory of the season on Tuesday. The Blues are coming into this game with a record good enough for 12th in the league’s standings. They’ve lost two of their past three, however, against the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames. Unlike the Devils, who have played twice since the all-star break, the Blues will hit the ice for the first time since the pause tonight.

Projected Lines

Devils’

Forwards:

Sharangovich – Hischier – Bratt

Tatar – Zacha – Vesey

Johnsson – Mercer – Boqvist

Geertsen – McLeod – Bastian

Defensemen:

Siegenthaler – Severson

Smith – Subban

White – Graves

Goalies:

Gillies

Daws

Blues’

Forwards:

Schenn – O’Reilly – Buchnevich

Kyrou – Thomas – Tarasenko

Saad – Barbashev – Perron

Kostin – Bozak – Sundqvist

Defensemen:

Mikkola – Parayko

Krug – Faulk

Scandella – Bortuzzo

Goalies:

Husso

Binnington

Pregame Notes

  • Jesper Boqvist has played very well since his return to the lineup since Michael McLeod got hurt. He got the chance to stay in when Jack Hughes was placed into COVID-19 protocols, and now he may be here to stay. In those six games, not only does he have six points (three goals and three assists), but he also holds a 53.4 corsi-for percentage (CF%) and 59.3 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%). Overall, it’s been the best stretch of Boqvist’s career, and he’ll look to continue it against the Blues tonight.
  • Blues forward Jordan Kyrou won the fastest skater competition at the all star game, but that’s not all that he’s good at. He currently leads the Blues in goals with 17 and points with 42 in 40 games. He’s also fifth on the Blues in CF% and seventh on the team in xG%.
  • These two teams haven’t played each other in almost two whole years, but it was the Devils who won the team’s previous meeting, 4-2. Overall, New Jersey is 38-60-14 against the Blues. The Devils win at the rock in 2020 was their first against St. Louis since 2014. They’re hoping to make a winning streak of their own against the Blues tonight.

Tonight’s game will begin at 8:00pm on MSG+2.

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