Matchup Overview
The New Jersey Devils look to continue their hot start as they take on the rival Philadelphia Flyers. New Jersey comes into this game fresh off one of their best defensive performances of the season. This in a 2-0 shutout against the New York Islanders. The Philadelphia Flyers are coming in off two losses to Boston, the last one being a 6-1 blowout. Tensions should be high in this one, expect some fireworks.
Projected Lines
New Jersey Devils
Forwards:
Yegor Sharangovich – Jack Hughes – Kyle Palmieri
Miles Wood – Travis Zajac – Janne Kuokkanen
Nicholas Merkley – Pavel Zacha – Nikita Gusev
Andreas Johnsson – Michael McLeod – Nathan Bastian
Defense:
Ryan Murray – P.K. Subban
Dmitry Kulikov – Damon Severson
Ty Smith – Matt Tennyson
Goalies:
Scott Wedgewood
Eric Comrie
Philadelphia Flyers
Forwards:
James Van Riemsdyk – Kevin Hayes – Jakub Voracek
Oskar Lindblom – Scott Laughton – Joel Farabee
Claude Giroux – Nolan Patrick – Travis Konecny
Michael Raffl – Connor Bunnaman – Nicolas Aubekubel
Defense:
Ivan Provorov – Shayne Gostisbehere
Travis Sanheim – Mark Friedman
Robert Hagg – Justin Braun
Goalies:
Brian Elliott
Carter Hart
What to Watch
Michael McLeod
Michael McLeod has looked solid to start the season. This despite the results on the scoresheet not showing yet. He is currently boasting a solid Corsi For % (CF%) of 50.60, which is one of the better numbers on the team.
McLeod has also been part of a fourth line that has been great at creating pressure and flipping momentum. In a game that is expected to be a hard-fought, grind it out type of contest, a dirty goal seems almost guaranteed. Now, I’m not guaranteeing a McLeod goal tonight, but I do think he finally finds his way onto the score sheet.
Jakub Voracek
Jakub Voracek always seems to be a thorn in the Devils’ side. Unfortunately for the Devils, he’s off to a hot start. Voracek currently has seven points in his first six games, totaling one goal and six assists.
With his vision and passing being on display early, the Devils can ill-afford to forget about how dangerous he also is as a shooter. Look for him to be involved early and often in driving the play and creating opportunities. More specifically, on the powerplay.
Prediction
As mentioned above, these rivalry games are always hard fought, grind it out type of games. The Devils are going to have to put on another strong defensive performance in this one if they want to come away with the win. Additionally, if the starter, Scott Wedgewood will have to be on his game.
Special teams will also, more than likely, play a big part in this one as they always seem to do. Unfortunately, for the Devils, this has been one of the team’s bigger weakness so far.
In a tough matchup, I think the Devils find a way to squeak out a 3-2 victory.