Overview

The road trip continues as the New Jersey Devils (48-20-8) travel further North. The club enters the second of a back-to-back set. This after the team’s dominate 6-3 victory in Chicago Saturday night.

Awaiting them is the Winnipeg Jets (42-31-3). New Jersey has locked up their spot for the playoffs, but they are chasing down the division crown. Winnipeg currently holds the second wild card spot in the Western Conference and the race is heating up. They look to continue their playoff push and hold their spot.

Projected Lineups

New Jersey Devils –

Forwards

Meier-Hischier-Mercer

Palat-Hughes-Bratt

Tatar-Haula-Boqvist

Wood-McLeod-Sharangovich

Defense

Siegenthaler-Hamilton

Graves-Marino

Bahl-Severson

Goalies

Vanecek

Blackwood

Winnipeg Jets –

Forwards

Connor-Dubois-Scheifele

Ehlers-Namestnikov-Wheeler

Niedereitter-Lowry-Appleton

Barron-Stenlund-Kuhlman

Defense

Samberg-Demelo

Dillon-Pionk

Stanley-Schmidt

Goalies

Hellebuyck

Rittich

What To Watch For

The Goaltending

If you love good goaltending, then you come to the right place. With Mackenzie Blackwood in net the night before, the blue paint belongs to Vitek Vanecek. He has gone 2-2 in his last four starts, highlighted by an impressive win over the New York Rangers. Vanecek has a 2.07 goals against average (GAA) and a .924 save percentage. Overall, his play has been better and he secured a 30-win season for himself.

His counterpart, Connor Hellebuyck, continues his Vezina finalist-type season. He has gone 3-2 in his last five starts with a 2.20 GAA and a .917 save percentage. What stands out the most about his game is his 22.3 goals saved above expected. This has the makings of a great duel in net.

Special Teams

When it comes to five-on-five play, the Devils are the better team. But one area that will be one to watch for is the special teams play. When it comes to the power play, the teams are middle of the pack or near the bottom (Devils 15th, Jets 24th).

However, these teams are penalty killing machines. New Jersey has the seventh-best unit, whereas the Jets have the sixth-best unit. Whichever unit can help it’s team out the most will have a better shot in this game if the whistles blow a ton.

Where To Watch?

Tonight’s puck drop is at 7:00 PM and is on NHL Network and MSG SportsNet 2.