Matchup - Devils (4-3-1 / 9 points) @ Stars (7-3-0 / 14 points)
TV - MSG, TXA 21
Puck drop - 8:00 PM ET
Projected starting goalies - Johan Hedberg (NJD) vs. Kari Lehtonen (DAL)

Battle of the stats

Goals for/against per game

Dallas - 2.30 / 2.20
New Jersey - 2.12 / 2.50

Powerplay/Penalty Kill percentage

Dallas - 13.9% / 85.7%
New Jersey - 11.5% / 87.9%

Here are the projected lines (subject to change) for the Stars:

Forwards

Brendan Morrow - Mike Ribeiro - Michael Ryder
Steve Ott - Jamie Benn - Loui Eriksson
Eric Nystrom - Vernon Fiddler - Radek Dvorak
Tom Wandell - Jake Dowell - Adam Burish

Defense

Alex Goligoski - Adam Purdy
Sheldon Souray - Stephane Robidas
Nicklas Grossman - Trevor Daley

Here are the projected lines (subject to change) for the Devils:

Forwards

Ilya Kovlachuk - Zach Parise - David Clarkson
Petr Sykora - Patrik Elias - Dainius Zubrus
Mattias Tedenby - Adam Henrique - Nick Palmieri
Brad Mills - Ryan Carter - Cam Janssen

Defense

Henrik Tallinder - Adam Larsson
Andy Greene - Mark Fayne
Bryce Salvador - Anton Volchenkov

Stars to watch out for:

Steve Ott - The super pest is seeing top-six minutes and making the most of it. He has 7 points (2G, 5A) in ten games.

Sheldon Souray - Last year nobody wanted him. After seeing him so far this year, everyone does. The big blue-liner has 6 points (2G, 4A) in ten games.

Kari Lehtonen - I try not to use stars, no pun intended, in my player's to watch, but has there been a better goaltender this year? I think not.

Devils to watch out for:

Adam Henrique - He tallied his first career point Thursday against the Coyotes. I bet he'll be hungry for more.

Mark Fayne - He is quietly having a solid season and he is tied for 4th on the Devils in scoring with 4 points (2G, 2A) in eight games.

Johan Hedberg - If he doesn't have a quality performance tonight and Martin Brodeur is not ready for the Devils next game, we could see Keith Kinkaid get a start.

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Note - I will not have a recap of tonight's game as I will be covering the Windsor Spitfires / Barrie Colts game for TheHockeyGuys.net. I will get to see the likes of Nick Ebert and Eric Locke, both of which are expected to be 1st round picks in 2012. Brendan Ross and myself are releasing our collaborated top-30 2012 draft rankings November 1st at TheHockeyGuys.net.

Follow me on twitter @ToddCordell for the latest news & notes surrounding the New Jersey Devils, and NHL in general.

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