Match-up - Tampa Bay Lightning (18-10-3) @ New Jersey Devils (12-15-6)
Road/Home records - 6-7-2 -------------- 5-5-3
TV - MSG Plus, SUN
Puck drop - 7:00 PM ET
Season series - Devils lead 1-0
Last 10: Lightning 4-3-3 / Devils 3-6-1
Projected starting goalies - Anders Lindback vs. Martin Brodeur




Projected lines for the Lightning:

Ondrej Palat - Tyler Johnson - Martin St. Louis
Alex Killorn - Valtteri Filppula - Teddy Purcell
J.T. Brown - Nate Thompson - Nikita Kucherov
B.J. Crombeen - Dana Tyrell - Pierre-Cedric Labrie

Eric Brewer - Andrei Sustr
Matt Carle - Radko Gudas
Sami Salo - Matt Taormina

Injuries: Steven Stamkos, Ryan Malone, Victor Hedman, Keith Aulie, Brian Lee.

Projected lines for the Devils:

Dainius Zubrus - Travis Zajac - Jaromir Jagr
Damien Brunner - Patrik Elias - Steve Bernier
Reid Boucher - Adam Henrique - Michael Ryder
Tim Sestito - Jacob Josefson - Cam Janssen

Andy Greene - Mark Fayne
Eric Gelinas - Jon Merrill
Anton Volchenkov - Marek Zidlicky

Injuries: Ryane Clowe, Stephen Gionta, Bryce Salvador, Adam Larsson, Ryan Carter.

Some notes:

- As of the time of writing this no starting goaltender for New Jersey has been announced, however, I'd be surprised if it isn't Martin Brodeur who gets the nod. Pete DeBoer has split starts in almost every back-to-back scenario this season, and given that Cory Schneider lost last night he probably won't break that trend. Regardless of who starts, the Devils need a good effort from their goaltender to help break this losing streak. They really need a win.

- Don't let the absence of Stamkos fool you, the Lightning are still a good team and own a very potent attack. Tyler Johnson is no slouch when it comes down to talent up the middle and Valtteri Filppula has fit in very well in his new home. They also still have Martin St. Louis, Teddy Purcell and hot-shot rookie Nikita Kucherov to help carry the offense. The Devils defense will have their hands full once again.

- Eric Gelinas and Jon Merrill are probably coming off their worst games as Devils. Both of them made several errors in the defensive zone and were torched for a couple goals before being split up. That's no reason to get down on them, though, as all young defenseman experience growing pains while developing. I expect both will be much better tonight.

- Anton Volchenkov played his best game of the season against the Penguins. He made some nice plays defensively and wasn't afraid to throw his body around, either. If he plays like that on a more regular basis, the Devils can somewhat justify paying him the salary he current earns.

- Patrik Elias has been very productive of late, recording 13 points in his last 13 contests. The Devils will need continued offensive output from him if they hope to remain in the playoff race.

- Damien Brunner followed up his two-goal performance against Columbus with another strong effort against the Penguins. He had a ton of scoring chances and was all over the puck. He seems to be regaining his confidence which is great news for the Devils. He looks like the guy we saw in preseason while playing with Elias.

- I won't see tonight's game live as I'm covering an OHL battle between the Windsor Spitfires and Barrie Colts. Devils prospect Ben Johnson plays for the Spitfires and he's having a pretty nice season there, so I look forward to seeing him tonight.

The Devils win every time I miss one of their games, so I expect that to continue tonight.

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