The New Jersey Devils (41-30-7) host the Pittsburgh Penguins (32-35-12) on Friday night. New Jersey is coming off a 7-2 drubbing at the hands of the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
However, the Devils did clinch a playoff spot thanks to a New York Rangers loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday. New Jersey is locked into third place in the Metropolitan Division and a matchup with the second place Carolina Hurricanes is already guaranteed for the first round of the playoffs.
Match Overview
There was some encouraging news for New Jersey on Thursday when Jonas Siegenthaler was seen skating after practice. The defenseman, who has not played since February 4 in Pittsburgh, was not wearing any equipment and Sheldon Keefe described it as “very preliminary” work, per Amanda Stein. So, a return at any point this season seems extremely unlikely.
Dougie Hamilton was reported to be skating last week, but like Siegenthaler, has no timetable for a return. But seems a lot closer than Siegenthaler.
In net, the Devils could go with Jacob Markstrom or Jake Allen. Markstrom has played four straight games, but New Jersey has played just twice in the last 10 days, so he could certainly be back in net. There is also logic to giving a game to Jake Allen to get him a start in case he is needed in the playoffs. Allen has not played since March 28 in Winnipeg.
This season, Markstrom has posted a .899 save percentage and a 0.18 goals saved above expected (GSAx). Allen owns a .909 save percentage and a 16.34 GSAx.
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is already eliminated from the playoffs. Despite the team struggles, Sidney Crosby has remained incredible at age 37. He leads the Penguins with 87 points in 77 games. Crosby has tallied at least one point in 19 of 22 games since the 4 Nations break.
Rickard Rakell leads Pittsburgh with 34 goals and is second with 68 points while Bryan Rust is the only other Penguin to hit the 60 point mark.
In net, Alex Nedeljkovic has split the starting role with Tristan Jarry, although Jarry has played four of the last five games. Nedeljkovic owns a .894 save percentage and a -8.19 GSAx while Jarry has registered a .890 save percentage and a -11.54 GSAx this season.
Projected Lines
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Noesen – Hischier – Bratt
Haula – Mercer – Meier
Palat – Glass – Sprong
Cotter – Lazar – Bastian
Defensemen
Hughes – Pesce
Dumoulin – Kovacevic
Dillon – Casey
Goaltenders
Markstrom
Allen
Pittsburgh Penguins
Forwards
Koivunen – Crosby – Rust
Heinen – Malkin – Rakell
Dewar – Hayes – Puustinen
Koppanen – Ponomarev – Bemstrom
Defensemen
Grzelcyk – Letang
Timmins – Karlsson
Graves – Shea
Goaltenders
Jarry
Nedeljkovic
What to Watch For
Second Line Finding Form
Over the last five games, only four Devils have played all five contests and have posted an expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) above 50.00. Those four are Nico Hischier, and the second line of Dawson Mercer, Timo Meier, and Erik Haula.
In that stretch, the second line has posted a 54.77 xGF% in over 43 minutes of five-on-five ice time together. They also have an 8-6 edge in high-danger chances.
Of course, these are not stellar numbers, but they are the best on the team over that span, and hopefully Sheldon Keefe has found a line that is clicking heading into the playoffs.
New Look Third Line
In Tuesday’s blowout loss, the line of Ondrej Palat, Tomas Tatar, and Justin Dowling finished with a brutal 4.63 xGF% together. As a result, it’s like that Tatar and Dowling have drawn out for Friday’s game with Palat now playing with Cody Glass and Daniel Sprong.
Sprong and Glass have not had the best underlying numbers as of late in their own right. Sprong has played four of the last five contests with a 33.20 xGF% at five-on-five. Meanwhile, Glass returned from injury on Saturday and has posted a 31.92 xGF% in two games.
The Devils are hoping that this combination can spark all three players.
Luke Hughes
Despite the loss to Boston, Luke Hughes finished with a 58.07 xGF% on Tuesday, the highest mark among New Jersey defensemen.
Over the last five games, though, Hughes has posted just a 47.51 xGF% at five-on-five. Without Siegentahler and Hamilton, the Devils are leaning on Hughes to be their number one defensemen, and they need him to consistently tilt the ice at five-on-five.
Where to Watch
Puck drop between the Devils and Penguins is set for 7:00 pm ET on MSGSN.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.