The New Jersey Devils couldn't have started the season any better. They won nine of the first 11 games on the docket, scored goals in bunches, and looked as dangerous with the puck as they've been since 2011-12 when they went to the Stanley Cup Final.
Since that point, things have quickly gone south. Some of the offense has dried up, the defense has at times been a disaster, and they've lost four consecutive games as a result.
They'll be looking to get back on track tonight against the Florida Panthers and they figure to have a good chance of doing so.
The Panthers enter this game having won just five times in 15 tries and their underlying numbers suggest that's no fluke — they're getting what they deserve.
They rank in the bottom half of the league in Corsi For%, Expected Goals For%, and they take a ton of penalties (only four teams have taken more penalties at 5v5). Couple their lack of discipline with a horrendous penalty kill and it's not hard to see why the Panthers often find themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
This is a very winnable game, especially given Florida is in the latter half of a back-to-back. The Devils should get, and need, two points here.
Here are the projected lineups:
New Jersey
Taylor Hall - Nico Hischier - Kyle Palmieri Jesper Bratt - Adam Henrique - Drew Stafford Brian Gibbons - Brian Boyle - Jimmy Hayes Miles Wood - Blake Coleman - Stefan Noesen
Andy Greene - Steven Santini John Moore - Damon Severson Will Butcher - Mirco Mueller
Keith Kinkaid
Edmonton (via DailyFaceoff.com)
Jonathan Huberdeau - Sasha Barkov - Evgenii Dadonov Connor Brickley - Vincent Trocheck - Radim Vrbata Jamie McGinn - Nick Bjugstad - Colton Sceviour Michael Haley - Derek MacKenzie - Dryden Hunt
Keith Yandle - Aaron Ekblad Michael Matheson - Mark Pysyk Ian McCoshen - Mackenzie Weeger
James Reimer
Five things to watch:
1) Over the last four games, the Andy Greene - Steve Santini pairing has had to deal with the Connor McDavid line (x2), the Vladimir Tarasenko line, and the Johnny Gaudreau line.
They'll have their hands full again tonight trying to slow down the Huberdeau - Barkov - Dadonov unit. That trio is controlling ~60% of the shot attempts, which ranks them 8th among 85 eligible lines (50+ 5v5 minutes), they have an Expected Goals For% of 61, and they rank 1-2-3 on the team in 5v5 scoring. They could cause serious problems.
2) Reimer is off to a horrendous start having stopped just 89% of the shots he's faced through nine appearances. The Devils need to make life miserable for him and funnel shots towards the net with lots of bodies in front to create traffic and bang in rebound opportunities.
3) The Panthers generally take a lot of penalties and tonight should be no different going up against a quick, rested, Devils team. If they use their speed and attack the Panthers, they'll draw their share of calls.
4) I've seen some people complaining about Nico's 'lack of production' of late, which drives me nuts. He is 3rd on the team in 5v5 scoring, tied for 2nd in 5v5 chances, and tied for 1st in 5v5 high-danger chances. He's also just 18 and, given he plays on Hall's line, sees top competition every night. What more do you expect from the guy? Goodness.
5) I thought Severson was excellent defensively in his return to the lineup. His puck movement was good as usual, but he was really steady without the puck and seemed to ramp his game up a notch. Hopefully, that continues tonight. Puck drop is just after 7:00 p.m. Eastern and can be seen on MSG+ and FS-F.
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