Writer’s Twitter: @ChrisMottHockey
Preview
The Devils are coming into today’s game against the Detroit Red Wings on the second half of a back-to-back. The Devils lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins last night 4-1 and will look to put forth a better performance at The Rock tonight. They’ll take on a Detroit Red Wings squad that is rebuilding, but still competitive.
There is no doubt that the Devils are slowly entering the point of no return when it comes to their chances of making the playoffs. That is a statement no Devils’ fan expected to hear this early in the season. With that being said, this is a must-win game for the Devils.
It was announced Louis Domingue will get the nod in goal. This is his first start since being called up from Binghamton. Domingue did relieve Mackenzie Blackwood in the 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh last night, but make no mistake Blackwood kept the game last night from getting out of hand. He was certainly not pulled for his effort.
As for other lineup news, the newly recalled Brett Seney will draw into the lineup. It seems as if John Hayden and Matt Tennyson will also be in the lineup as head coach John Hynes announced Jesper Bratt, Pavel Zacha, and Mirco Mueller are the healthy scratches.
What to Watch
Some other items to watch for in this game include not just how Domingue does in his first start in New Jersey, but some other storylines as well. Taylor Hall broke a nine-game goal drought last night when he scored the Devils’ only goal on the power play. Fans will look for Hall to try to build upon that tonight and going forward.
Overall though, fans want to see how this team as a whole responds. No one is happy – not the fans, not the players, not the coaches, and not the writers and members here at Devils Army Blog. Watching the post-game interview with Travis Zajac – a Devil who will be remembered for a long time by fans – was painful (see above). But today is a new day, and a new opportunity to start chipping away. The game against Detroit can be seen at 7:00 PM ET at The Rock or on MSG+. Tonight is also Hockey Fights Cancer Night at The Rock.
Lineups
Devils
Forwards
Hall – Hischier – Palmieri
Boqvist – Hughes – Simmonds
Coleman – Zajac – Gusev
Wood – Hayden – Seney
Defensemen
Greene – Severson
Butcher – Subban
Tennyson – Vatanen
Goalies
Domingue
Blackwood
Red Wings
Forwards
Bertuzzi – Larkin – Mantha
Anthanasiou – Filppula – Fabbri
Perlini – Nielsen – Hirose
Ehn – Glendening – Erne
Defensemen
Cholowski – Hronek
Hicketts – Mcilrath
Bowey – Ericsson
Goalies
Bernier
Howard