Sunday, the New Jersey Devils look to grab a win on the road against a struggling Winnipeg Jets.

The Devils are currently 22-20-2 after losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. The Jets are 16-22-5. They snapped an 11-game winless streak with a win against Los Angeles on Friday. 

Match Overview

This is one of those games where someone has to win. These two teams are a combined 9-23-6 since December 1. Ironically, both teams also had an identical 8-3-0 record in October. The Devils head into this game as arguably the healthier team. Both Jonathan Kovacevic and Evgenii Dadonov are poised to make their returns. Meanwhile, as has been the subject of great attention, Dougie Hamilton is expected to be a healthy scratch.

The Jets are mostly healthy, but are missing top-four defenseman Neal Pionk and depth pieces in Hayden Fleury and Morgan Barron.

Lines and Pairings

Devils

Forwards

Hughes-Hischier-Bratt

Dadonov-Mercer-Meier

Gritsyuk-Glass-Brown

Palat-Glendening-Cotter

Defense

Hughes-Pesce

Siegenthaler-Kovacevic

Dillon-Nemec

Goalies

Allen

Markstrom

Jets

Forwards

Connor-Scheifele-Iafallo

Perfetti-Toews-Vilardi

Niederreiter-Lowry-Namestnikov

Koepke-Zhilkin-Pearson

Defense

Morrissey-DeMelo

Samberg-Miller

Stanley-Schenn

Goalies

Hellebuyck

Comrie

Keys to the Game

Last Days Of Dougie

Saturday, the Devils practiced with Dougie Hamilton as an extra defenseman. The fifth-year Devil signed the biggest free agent contract in team history back in 2021, and over the first few years of the deal he lived up to it. However, this season he has a measly 10 points in 40 games despite putting up solid numbers at five-on-five.

After practice, Hamilton’s agent put out a message via insider Pierre LeBrun stating that the team scratching him is a tactic to run him out of town and that they would be willing to work with the team to find a suitable trade location. Where this saga goes will be interesting, but it does seem like Hamilton’s time in New Jersey is done.

No Wins In Winnipeg 

Since the Jets moved to Winnipeg in 2011, the Devils have struggled to win up north. In 14 games, New Jersey is 3-11-0 against the Jets with a negative-29 goal differential. The last time the Devils won in Winnipeg was a 2-1 shootout win in 2019. 

Where to Watch: 

Puck drop for Sunday’s game is set for 2:00 pm ET and can be found on MSG SportsNet.