New Jersey Devils Welcome Tampa Bay to Newark

The New Jersey Devils’ abbreviated winning streak was nice while it lasted. Following the Pittsburgh Penguins visit to Prudential Center on Sunday, New Jersey found themselves in a familiar place, the loss column. Unlike the Super Bowl a few hours later, there were no entertaining commercials to distract fans from another blown lead.

The task at hand doesn’t get any easier for the Devils. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning trade in the sunny shores of Florida for Newark in their only visit to the Garden State this year. This game was previously rescheduled from early January.

Players To Watch

Steven Stamkos:

Tampa Bay’s captain is having the best year of his career. Stamkos has 54 points while playing in 47 of Tampa’s’ 48 games so far. He’s helped pick up the offensive slack left behind by Nikita Kucherov, who has only played 13 games this season before returning to the lineup. Then again, is there ever really any “offensive slack,” when it comes to the Tampa Bay Lightning?

Nico Hichier:

The captain has five goals in his last four games. That includes a two-goal performance against the St. Louis Blues. He has one assist in two games against Tampa this year. Will his new found scoring touch continue?

Pavel Zacha:

Word on the street is that the Vancouver Canucks may be interested in trading for Zacha. Zacha, like Hischier, has been on scoring streak recently with four points in his last three games. Raise that trade value!

Keys To The Game

Score The First and Second Goals:

The Devils have scored first in their past five games. The team that scores second has won each of the past five games. New Jersey has a 2-3 record in these games. If the Devils score first, great! Make sure they get that second one before fans get too optimistic.

Kucherov’s Impact:

Nikita Kucherov hasn’t faced the Devils yet this season. Including his infamous stint on the long term injured reserve last season, the Devils wouldn’t have played the Lightning anyway because of the temporary division realignment. Given this, New Jersey hasn’t faced off against Kucherov since the 2019-2020 season. It may not be his home rink, but will Kucherov make up for lost time?

Power Plays Effect:

For all their offensive weapons, it’s surprising to see the Lightning ranked 19^th on the man advantage this season. When it comes to penalty kills, the Devils are in the NHL’s top ten. Meanwhile, the Lightning aren’t that far behind at number 12. Unlike Sunday, where power play goals seemed to change the course of the game, expect to see more scoring at five-on-five.

Projected Lineups

Tampa Bay Lightning

Forwards:

Palat/Point/Kucherov

Killorn/Stamkos/Joseph

Colton/Cirelli/Raddysh

Maroon/Bellemare/Perry

Defensemen:

Hedman/Rutta

McDonagh/Sustr

Sergachev/Foote

Goalies:

Vasilevskiy

Elliott