Match Overview

After two consecutive defeats at the hands of the Washington Capitals, the struggling New Jersey Devils need to get a win against the New York Islanders.

New Jersey has lost five of six games and has dug itself into a deep hole in the division. The Islanders, on the other hand, are riding high off of a great month of play. They went 8-2-2, their only regulation losses coming against Boston, and are in fourth in the East division.

This should be a gritty game of defense and goaltending as the Isles don’t have too much scoring and neither do the Devils. This could be a bad thing for Jersey, though, as they need their offense to rebound after some tough losses.

Projected Lines

New Jersey

Check our social media pages closer to puck drop for news regarding the Devils’ lines.

New York

Forwards:

Lee-Barzal-Eberle

Beauvillier-Nelson-Bailey

Colle-Pageau-Wahlstrom

Komarov-Cizikas-Martin

Defense:

Pelech-Pulock

Leddy-Mayfield

Greene-Dobson

Goalies:

Sorokin

Varlamov

Keys to the Game

Pavel Zacha

As mentioned, in the recap of the last game, Pavel Zacha is on a ten-game point streak. The oft-overlooked Zacha has been sensational this season as he proves his doubters wrong. He has six goals and seven assists for 13 points in 16 games thus far. Zacha could be a key to the Devils’ success as their offense is in a lul.

The Penalty Kill

So many negative things can be said about the Devils’ historically bad PK, but give them credit, they had a great weekend against the Capitals. They shut down the often dangerous Washington powerplay without a single goal allowed. These are baby steps, if the Devils can improve on this and get used to Lindy Ruff’s system, there is no doubt that they will thrive.

Tonight’s game can be seen on MSG+ at 7:00 pm.