Match Overview

After a tough shootout loss yesterday, the New Jersey Devils will look to get revenge on the Buffalo Sabres today. The Devils are now 3-3-2 and sit in sixth place in the East division. Meanwhile, the Sabres are 4-3-2 and sit at fourth in the division.

After the loss yesterday, New Jersey has now lost three in a row and needs to find their stride once again. This will be tough, even more so given the Sabres are a very talented team, and the Devils haven’t exactly been at full strength. The loss of MacKenzie Blackwood to the COVID list has certainly been felt, and today it’ll most likely be Eric Comrie’s turn to hold down the fort in his absence.

Lines and Pairings

Projected Devils‘ Lines

Check back to our social media pages closer to warmups for line combinations.

Projected Sabres’ Lines

Forwards:

Olofsson-Eichel-Thompson

Hall-Staal-Cozens

Rieder-Eakin-Okposo

Skinner-Lazar-Sheahan

Defense:

McCabe-Ristolainen

Dahlin-Miller

Montour-Jokiharu 

Goalies:

Hutton (1-2-0, .889 save percentage, 2.65 goals against average)

Ullmark

What/Who to Watch

Ty Smith

Ty Smith has been an offensive beast so far, no doubt about it. After scoring his second career goal yesterday, he now has seven points in eight games. If he keeps up this torrid pace, he’ll definitely be in the running for the Calder Trophy.

His defensive numbers also improved, especially after pairing with Damon Severson and ridding himself of Matt Tennyson. He now has an above average Corsi For % (CF%) of 51.93. Hopefully, Smith will continue to round out his game throughout the season.

The Devils’ Penalty Kill

This is something to watch for, but not in a good way. The Devils have had the worst penalty kill in the league at an abysmal 68%. When you watch them kill a penalty, they just let the other team cycle over and over again while they stand around casually guarding the crease. There is no urgency, there is no drive to clear the puck. The Devils need to pick up on the penalty kill in order to succeed.

Eric Comrie

Like Scott Wedgewood, Eric Comrie has been forced into the spotlight and will likely tend the twine today. This will be his first start of the season for the young goaltender, a huge test. He has played well in the AHL, so hopefully, he can transfer that to the NHL.

Taylor Hall

Matching up against former Devils is always fun, but it is especially so when they are performing. With his assists yesterday, Taylor Hall now has nine points through nine games, a point-per-game pace. Things have been going well for Hall, let’s see if he can continue that today.

Today’s game can be seen on MSG+ at 1:00 pm.