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The Blues will be in New Jersey to face the Metropolitan leading Devils tonight. It’s a 1 game road trip after going 3-1 on their home stand. The Blues have won 4 of their last 5 and earned points in 8 of their last 9 games.
The Devils are starting a 3 game home stand after going 1-1-1 on the road and are 4-2 so far at home this season. They are 4th in the league in power play efficiency, converting 25.6% of their chances and 3rd in the league in shooting percentage at 12% while scoring the 4th most goals per game (3.62). They are in the bottom third of the league in goals against per game (3.09).
Most Blues fans will recognize the Devils leading scorer, Taylor Hall. Hall has 17 points in 13 games. Many may not recognize the next four who are Jesper Bratt, Will Butcher, Nico Hischier, and Brian Gibbons, all of whom are averaging more than 2/3 of a point per game. Gibbons leads the Devils in goals with 7. As you can see, this is a very young Devils lineup. These aren’t your Brodeur Devils.
As to historic success against the Blues, Hall has 15 points in 19 games against the Blues. Corey Schneider has struggled in the wins category (3-5-1) but has posted good numbers with a 92.7% save percentage and a 2.15 goals against average. Schneider historically hasn’t gotten much help in his games against the Blues.
Tonight, the Devils lineup might look something like this:
Taylor Hall - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt Miles Wood - Adam Henrique - Drew Stafford Brian Boyle - Pavel Zacha - Jimmy Hayes Brian Gibbons - Blake Coleman - Stefan Noesen Andy Greene - Steven Santini John Moore - Damon Severson Mirco Mueller - Will Butcher Cory Schneider
For the Blues, Jake Allen is expected to get the start. Allen has been spectacular against the Devils, going 5-0 with a 1.20 goals against average and a 95.2% save percentage. Vladimir Tarasenko has 9 points in 7 games while Jaden Schwartz has 7 points in 6 games against the Devils.
I expect the lineup to look like this tonight:
Forwards Jaden Schwartz - Brayden Schenn - Vladimir Tarasenko Vladimir Sobotka – Paul Stastny - Alexander Steen Magnus Paajarvi – Oskar Sundqvist – Dmitrij Jaskin Scottie Upshall - Kyle Brodziak – Chris Thorburn
Defense Carl Gunnarsson - Alex Pietrangelo Joel Edmundson - Colton Parayko Vince Dunn - Robert Bortuzzo
Goalie Jake Allen
It’s a great day for hockey.
Fellow Hockeybuzz bloggers Nashville Predator's Paul McCann, Winnipeg Jet's Peter Tessier and Minnesota Wild's Dan Wallace have generously agreed to a friendly charity wager. We were hoping to do the whole division but don't have it fully represented yet. The blogger whose team finishes the highest the standings at the end of the year gets to pick a charity to whom the others will donate in their name.