The New Jersey Devils played a terrific game of hockey last time out and were rewarded with the team’s first win in a while. The road does not get easier though, as the Edmonton Oilers come to town. The Oilers and their top-seven offense bring a 18-12-0 record, while New Jersey is 11-15-5.

Overviews

The Devils, as mentioned, played one of their best games in a while on Wednesday night. They stifled Buffalo, who only mustered 38 shot attempts at five-on-five while New Jersey generated a hefty 69 of their own. No team in the league was in greater need for a fresh start than New Jersey. Is the game against Buffalo a sign of things to come? As it stands right now, New Jersey has three players in COVID-19 protocols: Tomas Tatar, Jimmy Vesey, and Jon Gillies. Worth noting, Tatar may be eligible to come off the list before the game.

The Oilers started the season blistering hot, jumping out to a 9-1-0 record. However, Edmonton suffered a six game losing streak that ended two games before the layoff. Over that stretch, they only scored eight goals. They were able to win the two games after the streak, but lost to St. Louis 4-2 Wednesday night. The Oilers will look to 39-year old Mike Smith to get themselves going. He has a .910 save percentage in four starts this season.

This afternoon’s game will be televised on MSG+. It is scheduled for a 1:00 PM ET puck drop at the Prudential Center.

Projected Lines

New Jersey Devils –

Forwards:

Zacha/Hischier/Boqvist

Sharangovich/Hughes/Bratt

Johnsson/Mercer/Kuokkanen

Studenic/McLeod/Bastian

Defensemen:

Graves/Hamilton

Siegenthaler/Severson

Smith/Subban

Goaltenders:

Blackwood

Schmid

Edmonton Oilers –

The Oilers are expected to get both Jesse Puljujarvi and Darnell Nurse back tomorrow. Additionally, as mentioned above, Smith is expected to be in between the pipes.

Who/What to Watch for?

• It is well documented that Connor McDavid (17 goals, 33 assists in 30 games played) is the league’s best player. He deserves all the attention possible. Head coach Lindy Ruff should do his best in using the home change benefit to his advantage. The McDavid line has an expected goals-for % (xGF%) as a trio of 58.9 which is top-15 among NHL lines with 75 minutes of ice time together. The Devils best bet to attempt to even slow down the McDavid line is by playing their best defensive pairing when they’re on the ice. That being, per the table below, the Damon Severson and Jonas Siegenthaler pairing.

Pairings	Total Expected Defensive GAR Rating
Jonas Siegenthaler and Damon Severson	8.3
Ryan Graves and Dougie Hamilton	-0.3
Ty Smith and P.K. Subban	-3.7

• The Edmonton Oilers have the best special teams in the NHL. Their power play, which will always be lethal as long as McDavid and Leon Draisaitl (24 goals and 26 assists in 30 games played) are around, is the best in the league. It is clicking at 31.5% and getting the reinforcements of Puljujarvi and one of the better offensive defenseman in the league, Nurse, back. The penalty kill is also very strong, as it ranks eighth in the league. The Devils penalty kill has been performing like one of the best in the league as of late. The bottom chart shows (far right of the card) just how great it has been. Regardless, it is imperative the Devils stay out of the box this afternoon.

Odds For Tonight’s Game

The money line odds for the Devils’ tonight are +125 against the Edmonton Oilers, courtesy of Betway. Tonight’s over under goal matchup is set at 6 goals.

This afternoon’s game is scheduled to start at 7:00 PM ET. It is being televised on MSG+2.