Matchup Overview
It has taken less than a week for the Devils to get a shot at redemption as they travel to St. Louis to try and take down the Blues. The Devils fell 4-1 last Friday and didn’t look very good in doing so. Over the last three games, the Devils have managed to only score three goals, including getting shutout by the Rangers and red hot Raanta, but you just aren’t going to win barely being able to score two goals a game. The Blues come in riding a two game losing streak, and in the month of December have given up at least three goals in 5 of 7 games so far. While they do have to power to put up big goal numbers on any given night, the Devils will have to show up early and fast to be able to get on the board and finally get their offense going.
The Devils were defeated by the Blues in their first matchup this season. -Getty Images
Keys to the game
It may sound like a broken record, but generating offense is going to be key, especially generating shots on goal. The Devils have only put up over 30 shots on goals once so far in December, with multiple games not breaking the 20 shot mark. Not to mention they continue to be outshot night in and night out. You can’t score if you don’t shoot, and the Devils need to find a way to rack up the shot totals and control the pace of play. With Allen likely to be back in the crease for the Blues, it isn’t going to be easy getting many past him, which is even more reason to throw everything on net and hope for a bounce.
Players to watch
Taylor Hall obviously is always a threat to get the puck to the net, but we have a lot of guys who need to step up and get hot. To this point, both Henrique and Palmieri have been disappointing, especially coming off of their 30 goal seasons last year. Even though Cammalleri came back red hot, he has cooled off in a major way as of late as well, Zajac is still playing a solid game but the points just aren’t there, and Parenteau needs to find a way to start producing as well. See a pattern yet? You got it, everyone up and down the roster needs to step up their production and soon.
Players like Damon Severson need to make a difference tonight. -nhl.com
Even though they have a losing record so far this December, the Blues still play a very solid game and have a defense that is capable of slowing down the pace of play and not allowing a team to generate opportunities in the offensive zone. Robbie Fabbri and David Perron continue to have strong seasons, and Parayko is quickly becoming a point machine on the power play. With Jake Allen back in net tonight, it has the potential to be another tough night trying to find goals, as Allen has been lights out on home ice. He is 10-0-2 with a 1.79 GAA and a .932 save percentage, so even though he has had a rough few games, look for him to get back on track tonight.
Prediction
I hope that I’m wrong, but I haven’t seen enough upside on the offensive end to believe they can just turn it on tonight against a very strong goaltender. I’m hoping they get over 25 shots, but I see them falling in this one 3-1.