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Match-up - Minnesota Wild (7-6-0) @ New Jersey Devils (6-7-2)
Road/Home records - 2-5-0 -------------- 2-2-2
TV - FS-N, MSG+
Puck drop - 7:00 p.m. ET
Season series - 0-0
Last 10 - Minnesota: 5-5-0 ------- New Jersey: 3-5-2
Projected starting goalies - Darcy Kuemper vs Cory Schneider
Projected lines for the Wild via DailyFaceoff.com:
Thomas Vanek - Mikael Granlund - Jason Pominville
Jason Zucker - Mikko Koivu - Charlie Coyle
Nino Niederreiter - Kyle Brodziak - Justin Fontaine
Stephane Veilleux - Erik Haula - Ryan Carter
Ryan Suter - Jonas Brodin
Marco Scandella - Christian Folin
Keith Ballard - Matthew Dumba
Injured: Zach Parise, Matt Cooke, Jared Spurgeon, Josh Harding.
Projected lines for the Devils:
Mike Cammalleri - Travis Zajac - Jaromir Jagr
Martin Havlat - Patrik Elias - Michael Ryder
Damien Brunner - Jacob Josefson - Dainius Zubrus
Tuomo Ruutu - Stephen Gionta - Steve Bernier
Andy Greene - Damon Severson
Seth Helgeson - Marek Zidlicky
Eric Gelinas - Adam Larsson
Injured: Adam Henrique, Ryane Clowe, Jon Merrill, Bryce Salvador.
Game notes:
- This game features some of the worst special teams you'll see this far into a season. New Jersey's penalty killing unit has been absolutely putrid all year and have given up goals almost every night, while Minnesota's power play is about as ineffective as it can possibly be. It'll be interesting to see who wins that matchup, and how awful it is to watch.
- Mike Cammalleri had a pair of assists in his return to the lineup against Boston, and now has nine points in nine games on the year. He's off to a very good start, but the Devils are going to need him to continue producing if they want to put together some wins and climb up the standings.
- Travis Zajac scored and added an assist in what was arguably his best game of the year. With Cammalleri back on one side and Jaromir Jagr on the other, Zajac has two legitimate offensive threats on his line and should be able to increase his offensive production.
- Zach Parise won't play due to a concussion, but this game still has a lot of meaning for one Wild player in Ryan Carter. He had his best seasons in New Jersey and wasn't overly eager to leave, but elected to join a good team in the Wild rather than waiting around on the Devils when he was without a contract at the end of camp. Carter is off to an excellent start with five points in 12 games, and will surely have some extra jump in his step tonight.
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