The New Jersey Devils (37-28-7) begin a three-game road trip against the Chicago Blackhawks (21-41-9) on Wednesday night. The Devils have lost three straight games, most recently falling 4-3 in a shootout to Vancouver on Monday.
However, New Jersey still sits in third place in the Metropolitan Division, seven points up on the chasing Islanders and Rangers. Meanwhile, Chicago took down Philadelphia on Sunday, but have lost eight of 10 Only the San Jose Sharks have a worse record this season.
Match Overview
Back in December, the Devils defeated the Blackhawks 4-1 at the Prudential Center. Things have changed since then for New Jersey of course, with Jack Hughes, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Dougie Hamilton all out for at least the rest of the regular season.
Besides those three players, there are no new injuries to note. New Jersey did sign defenseman Ethan Edwards to an entry-level contract on Tuesday, but it does not begin until next season, so he will report to Utica and not factor into the NHL roster down the stretch. Edwards was a 2020 fourth-round pick that had been playing college hockey at Michigan.
Meanwhile, Chicago has had a disappointing year. Connor Bedard has been tremendous offensively once again, leading the team with 56 points. Teuvo Teravainen and Ryan Donato have also reached the 50 point mark, with Donato leading Chicago with 25 goals. On the backend, Alex Vlasic’s 28 points leads the defense corps.
Veterans like Taylor Hall and Seth Jones were traded away at the deadline with the Blackhawks continuing to rebuild.
In goal, Arvid Soderblom and Spencer Knight have shared the crease since Knight was acquired as part of the Seth Jones deal. Soderblom has posted a .899 save percentage and a -2.06 goals saved above expected (GSAx) in 33 games while Knight owns a .903 save percentage and a 0.30 GSAx in seven games since arriving in Chicago.
Meanwhile, the Devils have been alternating Jake Allen and Jacob Markstrom over the past week or so, so Allen seemingly will get the start in Chicago. The 34-year-old has registered a .912 save percentage and a 17.36 GSAx this season. Check our social channels closer to puck drop for the confirmed starters.
Projected Lines
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Haula – Hischier – Meier
Noesen – Glass – Bratt
Palat – Mercer – Tatar
Foote – Dowling – Cotter
Defensemen
Hughes – Pesce
Dumoulin – Kovacevic
Dillon – Cholowski
Goaltenders
Allen
Markstrom
Chicago Blackhawks
Forwards
Donato – Nazar – Bedard
Teravainen – Foligno – Mikheyev
Kurashev – Veleno – Bertuzzi
Slaggert – Reichel – Maroon
Defensemen
Vlasic – Crevier
Del Mastro – Murphy
Kaiser – Levshunov
Goaltenders
Knight
Soderblom
What To Watch For
Jesper Bratt
After Jack Hughes went down with an injury, Jesper Bratt absolutely elevated his game, winning the NHL’s Second Star of the Week after a trio of three-point games.
However, Bratt has slowed down from his superhuman place over the past three games. Despite two points in the last three contests, Bratt’s underlying metrics have slipped. The 26-year-old has posted a 34.11 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) at five-on-five, the lowest among Devils’ forwards to play in all three games. New Jersey has also conceded a 14-9 edge in high-danger chances with Bratt on the ice.
This is not entirely unexpected, with opposing teams gearing up to stop Bratt who had been so hot, but it is also unsurprising to see New Jersey struggle when Bratt is not leading the charge offensively. The Devils need just a little bit more from him to right the ship and snap the losing streak.
Tomas Tatar
One Devil who has put up solid underlying numbers during this losing skid is Tomas Tatar. Tatar has posted a 56.48 xGF% at five-on-five, the fourth-highest mark on the team. Tatar has also seen an 11-7 edge in scoring chances and a 5-2 edge in high-danger chances while on the ice.
Unfortunately, that solid run of play has not translated to goals. Tatar has been held without a point since March 1, a span of ten games. While New Jersey certainly needs its depth players to tilt the ice more, they also need goals. Similar to Bratt, the Devils need just a bit more from Tatar as the regular season winds down.
Brendan Dillon
Brendan Dillon has had a tough stretch of games recently, registering a 34.26 xGF% at five-on-five. Among New Jersey defensemen, only Dennis Cholowski and Simon Nemec have had lower rates.
Dillon also struggled in the first matchup with Chicago. Paired with the now-injured Dougie Hamilton, Dillon posted a brutal 6.38 xGF% at five-on-five while surrendering a 13-2 edge in scoring chances and a 7-1 edge in high-danger chances.
The Devils need an improvement in Dillon’s play in general at the moment, but he certainly needs to be better than in his first matchup with the Blackhawks this season for New Jersey to snap this losing skid.
Where To Watch
Puck drop between the Devils and Blackhawks is set for 7:30 pm ET. The game is a TNT exclusive and will be streaming on TNT or Max.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.