Overview
The New Jersey Devils continue a four-game home stand against the Colorado Avalanche tonight. On Sunday afternoon, the Devils defeated the St. Louis Blues 3-2 via a Dougie Hamilton goal in overtime.
Meanwhile, the Avalanche are coming off a 5-4 win on Long Island last night. The win snapped a two-game winless stretch for Colorado.
The Avalanche lead the NHL with a .763 points percentage, and after three-straight second round exits, are once again among the favorites to hoist the Stanley Cup this summer. Colorado is led by a high-powered offense that is second in the league with 3.98 goals scored per game, trailing only Florida.
New Jersey has dropped the last four meetings with Colorado, although the teams have not met since January 2020 because of last seasonâs realignment. The Devils last defeated the Avalanche in 2017-18 when the Devils swept the season series.
Projected Lines (via Daily Faceoff)
New Jersey Devils’
Forwards:
Sharangovich – Hughes – Mercer
Tatar – Hischier – Bratt
Zacha – Boqvist – Johnsson
Vesey – McLeod – Bastian
Defensemen:
Siegenthaler – Severson
Graves – Hamilton
Smith – Subban
Goaltenders:
Nico Daws
Jon Gillies
Colorado Avalanche
Forwards:
Burakovsky – MacKinnon – Rantanen
Landeskog – Kadri – Nichuskin
Newhook – Compher – OâConnor
Helm – Jost – Aube-Kubel
Defensemen:
Toews – Makar
J. Johnson – Girard
Murray – E. Johnson
Goaltenders:
Darcy Kuemper
Pavel Francouz
Who/What to Watch
Nazem Kadri
Kadri is having a career-year for Colorado. The center has already set a new career-high in points with 72 in just 54 games. In his previous two seasons in Colorado, Kadri put up 68 points in 107 games, a rate of .636 points per game. This year, that clip has ballooned to 1.33 points per game, more than double his previous mark. Kadri leads Colorado in points (72) and assists (50) while his linemate Gabriel Landeskog paces the Avalanche with 30 goals. If the Devils canât slow down Kadri, it could be a long night in Newark.
Dougie Hamilton
Itâs been an up-and-down season for the Devilsâ big free agent acquisition. Hamilton has only played in 36 of 56 games because of injury, including a broken jaw that sidelined the defenseman for 17 games last month. However, when Hamilton has been on the ice, New Jersey has benefitted.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Hamiltonâs Corsi-for percentage (CF%) is 56.97 this season, meaning NJ takes nearly 57% of shot attempts when Hamilton on the ice in all situations. Although this is Hamiltonâs lowest mark since 2015-16 in Calgary. Coming off an overtime winner on Sunday, Hamilton will need to play up to his elite potential for NJ to upset Colorado.
Nico Daws
Since returning to New Jersey in February, Nico Daws has provided a needed boost for the Devils’ goaltending. In his six starts since returning to the Devils, Daws is 3-3-0 with a save percentage of .913. That is a significant improvement over the Devilsâ team save percentage of .886 this season. League average is .903 according to Hockey Reference.Â
New Jersey is also second-worst in the NHL in goals saved above expected (GSAx) according to JFreshHockey. New Jersey netminders have allowed 30 more goals than they would have been expected to throughout the season. Daws faces a stern test tonight against an Avalanche team that fires 35.1 shots on net per game, the fourth-most in the league.
Where to Watch
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST and the game will be broadcast on MSG+.