New Jersey traffic may have been enough to make the Minnesota Wild late on Wednesday, but they still left with a victory over the New Jersey Devils. It was one of those games where the Devils should be happy they got a point and move onto the next one. Let’s call it a “moral victory.”
As we wake up from our turkey induced food comas and head to malls for Black Friday deals, the Devils will have their own door buster with the Nashville Predators. Feast on some left overs and watch some hockey today. Hopefully all your relatives left by now.
Keys To The Game
Nashville’s Power Play:
Nashville has a top three power play in the NHL this season. According to Coach’s Corner from NHL.com, a major reason for their success is the interchangeability of their power play and positioning of the players after entering the zone. That makes it even harder for opposing teams to prepare against. For a team like the Devils, that takes way too many penalties as it is, they should be extra careful not to give Nashville any chances on the man advantage.
Here’s Hynsey:
New Jersey is well acquainted with Nashville’s bench boss, as its former head coach John Hynes. Hynes is experiencing some success in Nashville because of areas the Devils didn’t fare out well (like we just explained with their power play). Considering how many current Devils played under Hynes, they should have a good idea of what’s to come.
Capitalize On High Danger Chances:
If you saw the statistics from the Devils’ game Wednesday, minus the score, it looks like a game the Devils easily controlled. Unfortunately, none of those high danger chances got passed Cam Talbot until the third period. Minnesota also did a great job limited the Devils shooting lanes in the defensive zone. Nashville isn’t as powerful as Minnesota, but they do have a good defense. If New Jersey gets chances like they were against Minnesota, they better capitalize on them.
Players To Watch
Matt Duchene:
After two lackluster seasons in the Music City, Matt Duchene is back to doing Matt Duchene things. His 20 points in 19 games are enough to lead the Predators in scoring. He has seven points on the power play and an impressive shooting percentage of 21.4% this season. One interesting note is he only has three scoring streaks of more than one game this season (one two-game streak and two three-game streaks). He was on the scoresheet in his last game, so if this trend continues maybe he won’t score against the Devils.
Nico Hischier:
Remember a few weeks ago when people were complaining about Hischier? When they were saying he wasn’t making an impact? Pepperidge Farm remembers, and so do we. Two beautiful assists on Wednesday and an assist against the Tampa Bay Lightning give him three points in his last two games.
Yegor Sharangovich:
Speaking of Devils’ players who got off to a slow start this season, let’s talk about Sharangovich. Big things were expected from him after netting 16 goals in his rookie shortened season. He didn’t have a goal this season until scoring twice in Tampa and again on Wednesday for three goals in his last two games.
Projected Lineups
Nashville Predators
Forwards
Luke Kunin-Mikael Granlund-Matt Duchene
Filip Forsberg-Ryan Johansen-Eeli Tolvanen
Yakov Trenin-Colton Sissons-Tanner Jeannot
Nick Cousins-Thomas Novak-Philip tomasino
Defensemen
Roman Josi-Dante Fabbro
Mattias Ekholm-Alexander Carrier
Mark Borowiecki-Matt Benning
Goaltenders
Jusse Saros, David Rittich
New Jersey Devils
Check back to our media channels as soon as lineups are posted.
How To Watch
Tonight’s game is exclusively streamed on ESPN’s subscription service ESPN+ and Hulu. There is no MSG broadcast. You can always check on our social channels for game updates throughout the night.
Prediction
Winning in their next game after an overtime or shootout loss is not New Jersey’s strong suit. Nashville is coming off a loss as well. Let’s try to be optimistic and say a 3-2 Devils’ win.