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NHL Gameday Preview: Winnipeg Jets @ New Jersey Devils - Game 24

November 25, 2013, 1:07 PM ET [191 Comments]
Todd Cordell
New Jersey Devils Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Match-up - Winnipeg Jets (10-11-4) @ New Jersey Devils (9-9-5)
Road/Home records - 3-5-1 -------------- 4-2-2
TV - MSG, TSN-Jets
Puck drop - 7:00 PM ET
Season series - Jets lead 1-0
Last 10: Jets 5-3-2 / Devils 6-3-1
Projected starting goalies - Ondrej Pavelec vs Martin Brodeur

Goals for/against per game

Winnipeg - 2.44/2.88
New Jersey - 2.13/2.22

Power play/Penalty Kill

Winnipeg - 12.8%/82.3%
New Jersey - 18.7%/86.2%

Projected lines for the Jets (courtesy of DailyFaceoff.com):

Andrew Ladd - Bryan Little - Blake Wheeler
Evander Kane - Olli Jokinen - Devin Setoguchi
Matt Halischuk - Mark Scheifele - Michael Frolik
Eric Tangradi - James Wright - Chris Thorburn

Dustin Byfuglien - Tobias Enstrom
Grant Clitsome - Jacob Trouba
Mark Stuart - Keaton Ellerby

Notable injuries: Zach Bogosian.

Projected lines for the Devils:

Dainius Zubrus - Travis Zajac - Jaromir Jagr
Damien Brunner - Patrik Elias - Steve Bernier
Adam Henrique - Andrei Loktionov - Michael Ryder
Ryan Carter - Jacob Josefson - Cam Janssen

Andy Greene - Marek Zidlicky
Eric Gelinas - Mark Fayne
Jon Merrill - Pete Harrold

Notable injuries: Ryane Clowe, Bryce Salvador, Anton Volchenkov, Adam Larsson.

Some notes:

- Despite losing his last start against San Jose, Pete DeBoer is electing to go with Brodeur between the pipes once again. Brodeur is 7-2-0 with a 1.45 goals against average and .941 save percentage in his last nine starts so you can't really dispute it. The Devils will need another good performance from him as they try and get going offensively.

- Perhaps the most interesting storyline from the Devils' perspective is the return of Jon Merrill. He's been recalled under emergency conditions and will fill in for an injured Adam Larsson. Merrill didn't last long in his NHL debut, so it'll be interesting to see how he does tonight in what should be his first full NHL game. He's playing on a pairing with DeBoer favourite Pete Harrold so he should get some decent minutes.

- The Devils power play still has some kinks, but it's more efficient than we've seen over the last few years. Why? The play of Eric Gelinas. His shot has provided a much needed weapon on the back end and it gives opposing teams another thing to worry about. Gelinas has only played in 14 games, but he leads the Devils with seven power play points, including two goals.

- Living legend Jaromir Jagr has been dynamite over the last month or so, recording 16 points over his last 16 games and reaching and/or breaking several milestones and records in that span. The Jets are averaging almost three goals against per game, so it wouldn't surprise me to see No. 68 on the scoresheet once again.

- One reason the Devils offense has struggled so much is the play of Damien Brunner. For the most part he's seen top-6 minutes and power play time, but he's produced next to nothing since the beginning of the season. Brunner is pointless in his last 11 games and has and has only scored once in his last 18 outings. He needs to be much better.

- The Devils' defense will need to be on their toes tonight as they're going up against a very fast team in the Jets. They have a lot of wingers - Wheeler and Kane, for example - who like to fly down the wing and create offense that way, so the Devils can't afford to be caught flatfooted. If they do, those guys will have field days.

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