Preview: New Jersey Devils Eye Revenge against Minnesota Wild

The New Jersey Devils will look to get right against the Minnesota Wild. (Photo via Getty)

Overview

The New Jersey Devils will look to start off December in the win column, something they didn’t do very well the last half of November. That won’t be an easy task, however, going against the 15-6-1 Minnesota Wild. The game also will be the first half of a back-to-back, so starting off with a win is almost a necessity.

Projected Lines

Devils

Be sure to check back to our social media pages for the latest line combinations. The above is the projected forward combinations.

Wild

Forwards

Kaprizov – Hartman – Pitlick

Greenway – Eriksson Ek – Foligno

Fiala – Rask – Addison

Duhaime – Sturm – Bjugstad

Defensemen

Brodin – Dumba

Goligoski – Merrill

Benn – Kulikov

Goaltenders

Kahkonen

Talbot

What to Watch

Ty Smith

This is more of a negative then anything given his weak play this season. Defensively, Smith has been a massive liability and it seems to have reached the point where it is just bringing his entire game down. Yes, he is a young player and there will be growing pains, but seeing regression to this level is a bit unnerving at this point of the season. A strong performance would do wonders for his confidence.

Line Combinations

A fairly vague topic, but with Jack Hughes being slowly worked back into the mix, some of the line decisions being made by head coach Lindy Ruff have been a bit head-scratching. Nico Hischier and Hughes just aren’t the proper type of players to be on the same line, and Hughes clearly isn’t nearly as comfortable playing on the wing as he would be at center. This also has trickle down effect on the rest of the lines, so a hopeful speedy return to center would do good for the entire team.

Where to Watch

Tonight’s nights game will be available on MSG+2 at 8:00 PM EST.

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