Overview
The New Jersey Devils (26-42-6) make their first trip to Climate Pledge Arena to take on the Seattle Kraken (23-44-6) tonight. The Devils won the first matchup of the season 4-2 back in mid-October. That was just the second game of the season for New Jersey.
It has been a disappointing season for both teams, however. Both the Devils and Kraken sit among the bottom five positions in the NHL standings. Neither team comes in playing particularly well, either. The Devils fell 3-1 at the Avalanche Thursday night while the Kraken enter on a two-game losing streak. Seattle lost each of those contests to Calgary by a combined five goals.
Projected Lines (via Daily Faceoff)
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Sharangovich – Hischier – Zetterlund
Tatar – Mercer – Bratt
Zacha – Boqvist – Kuokkanen
Greer – McLeod – Bastian
Defensemen
Graves – Severson
Bahl – Hamilton
Smith – Subban
Goaltenders
Daws
Hammond
Seattle Kraken
Forwards
Donato – Beniers – Eberle
McCann – Gourde – Lind
Rask – Wennberg – Kuhlman
Sheahan – Geekie – Sprong
Defensemen
Dunn – Larsson
Fleury – Soucy
Oleksiak – Borgen
Goaltenders
Grubauer
Driedger
Who/What To Watch
Nico Hischier
Nico Hischier has turned in an extremely strong second half of the season. The 2017 first overall draft pick already has set a new career-high with 58 points, including 34 in his last 26 games. With Jack Hughes out of the lineup, Hischier has stepped up his game even more. On this road trip, Hischier had a three-point game at Arizona and scored a highlight-reel goal to beat Dallas.
In fact, in that win over Dallas, Hischier was able to dictate the play effectively. Per Natural Stat Trick, Hischier had a Corsi-for percentage (CF%) of 56.25%, meaning 56.25% of the shot attempts belonged to New Jersey with Hischier on the ice. However, for the entirety of the game, Dallas had a 55.71% CF% as a team, showing how Hischier tilted the ice with his presence.
Philipp Grubauer
Anyone who has followed the Devils closely this season knows about the struggles New Jersey netminders have had. If there is any team out there that can best sympathize with the Devils, it is the Kraken. Per JFresh Hockey, the Devils and Kraken are the two worst teams in the NHL in terms of Team Goals Allowed Above Expected.
Seattleâs starting netminder, Philipp Grubauer, is the âleaderâ in terms of Individual Goals Allowed Above Expected with 25.4. For context, Devils goalie Jon Gillies has allowed just 13.5 goals more than expected, albeit in 36 fewer starts (50 compared to 14).
Gillies may have a higher Goals Allowed Expected Per 60, but goaltending has clearly been an issue for both organizations. It will be interesting to see how Grubauer and his .891 save percentage stack up against a Devils team that is 17th in scoring with 3.04 goals per game. And for what it is worth, Seattleâs backup, Chris Dreidger, also owns a sub-90 save percentage at .898.
Matthew Beniers
The biggest reason to watch the Kraken right now is to see top prospect Matthew Beniers. Beniers, a college teammate of Devilsâ prospect Luke Hughes at Michigan, was the second overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. The 19-year-old made his NHL debut Tuesday and registered an assist in a 5-3 loss at Calgary.
In his two seasons at Michigan, Beniers was a point-per-game player. He scored 24 points in 24 games in 2020-21, and put up 43 points in 37 games this season. The center was also a part of the gold-medal winning United States team at the 2021 World Junior Championships, and was a part of Team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Where to Watch
The game is scheduled to begin at 10 PM ET and will air on MSG+.