Overview

On Sunday night, the New Jersey Devils (15-20-5) fell by a score of 3-2 to the Los Angeles Kings. Tonight, the Devils try to get back to winning ways when the “Red and Black” welcome the Dallas Stars (20-16-2). The game will take place at the Prudential Center and is the final game of a four-game homestand.

The Stars have won three straight including a 3-1 win in Philadelphia last night. Dallas sits eighth in the Western Conference in points percentage. One player to keep an eye on for Dallas is left winger Roope Hintz. The 25-year old Finn leads the Stars with 18 goals and scored last night against the Flyers. Joe Pavelski is also having an excellent season with 17 goals and a team-leading 43 points.

With Jake Oettinger getting the start last night in Philadelphia, the Devils will likely see Braden Holtby in net. Holtby is 8-8-1 this year with a .913 save percentage and 2.68 GAA. Meanwhile, the Devils will likely turn to Jon Gillies once again with MacKenzie Blackwood still nursing an undisclosed injury. Gillies played both halves of New Jersey’s back-to-back contests over the weekend and got his first win as a Devil Saturday night.

This is the first matchup between the Devils and Stars since February 1, 2020, when Joe Pavelski scored 1:39 into overtime to give Dallas a 3-2 win.

Projected Lines

Devils’

Forwards:

Sharangovich – Hughes – Bratt

Vesey – Hischier – Tatar

Zacha – Mercer – Johnsson

Kuokkanen – McLeod – Bastian

Defensemen:

Siegenthaler – Severson

Graves – Subban

White – Jaros

Goaltenders:

Gillies

Blackwood

Stars’

Forwards:

Robertson – Hintz – Pavelski

Benn – Seguin – Gurianov

Kiviranta – Peterson – Radulov

Tufte – Damiani – Glendening

Defensemen:

Suter – Heiskanen

Lindell – Klingberg

Hanley – Hakanpaa

Goaltenders:

Holtby

Oettinger

Who/What To Watch

With his two goals so far tonight, Jesper Bratt has a new career-best in points! 👏 pic.twitter.com/XyGcJMk1ZZ

— NHL (@NHL) January 24, 2022

Jesper Bratt

Jesper Bratt has had a phenomenal season so far for the Devils. The 23-year old Swede leads New Jersey with a career-high 36 points in 37 games. This includes a two-goal outing Sunday night. Bratt has been a driving force for the Devils’ offense all season long and has points in the last five games he has played. Bratt has a chance to remain hot against a Stars team that allows 3.05 goals per game, the 13th-most in the NHL.

The #NJDevils have notched a power play goal in their last four straight games.

Bratt's PPG is his 13th of the season.

— Catherine Bogart (@CatherineBogart) January 24, 2022

Special Teams

Special teams often are the difference in a hockey game and tonight is shaping up to be no different. Early in the season, the Devils power play was struggling mightily, but it has been resurgent of late with goals in four straight. Meanwhile, the Stars have had difficulty killing penalties this season. The Dallas penalty kill ranks 27th in the league at just 76.9%.

On the other hand, the Stars have one of the league’s best power play units. Dallas converts 27% of its power plays, the fourth-highest mark in the league. The Devils stayed out of the box in Saturday’s win over Carolina, killing off the only penalty of the night. New Jersey will need to do more of that against the Stars and not give the lethal Dallas power play any extra chances.

Where To Watch

Puck drop at the Prudential Center is set for 7:00 PM ET. The game will be aired exclusively on ESPN+ as well as Hulu.