Here are five things to watch when the New Jersey Devils take on the Minnesota Wild
1. Testing the rookie Kaapo Kahkonen is expected to make his NHL debut tonight. The 23-year-old is in the midst of his 2nd professional season in North America. In aggregate, he owns a .908 save percentage through 49 career AHL games. I can’t speak much to his ceiling as an NHL player but his numbers aren’t anything to write home about and, in theory, they’ll only drop against tougher competition. The Devils, who rank 31st in attempts/60 at 5v5, need to find a way to ramp things up and get more pucks towards the net. Really put him to work and see how he handles the test.
2. Shaking things up Last season the Devils’ top line of Taylor Hall, Nico Hischier and Kyle Palmieri averaged 31.29 scoring chances and 2.92 expected goals per 60 minutes of play. This season that same trio is generating 18.52 scoring chances and 1.76 expected goals per 60. For whatever reason they’ve gone from an elite offensive unit to one as scary as a golden retriever puppy. If they are once again struggling to make anything happen tonight I’d like to see an in-game adjustment made. John Hynes would be doing himself a disservice if he sits on his hands and tries to win while getting nothing out of what should be the team’s best line.
3. Improved 5v5 play The Devils have not played well at 5v5, especially of late. They rank bottom-5 in terms of both Corsi For% and Scoring Chance For% over the last 10 games. Put another way, they’re routinely being out-shot and out-chanced in that game state. That’s obviously not a recipe for success. Minnesota is quite disciplined – only four teams average less time shorthanded per game – so New Jersey probably can’t rely on a parade to the box and PP success to get this win. They’re going to have to do some damage at 5v5. We’ll see if they can step up.
4. The Swiss Sniper Kevin Fiala’s had a rather up and down career – at least in the eyes of his coaches – but there’s no denying his talent. He’s showing it on a more consistent basis, particularly of late, as he’s piled up five goals and nine points over his last 11 games while averaging ~14 minutes. Fiala’s efficiency stats are now through the roof: he’s averaging 2.57 points per 60 minutes at 5v5, which is good for 37th in the NHL – ahead of many stars. He looks even better in the goal department, slotting 28th in goals/60. He’s not yet a household name but his talent stacks up to those who are. If the Devils fall asleep at the wheel when he has the puck, they’ll pay the price.
5. Another opportunity Louis Domingue made his first start with the Devils last time out. He posted a .950 save percentage in a rare winning effort. Though it wasn’t the toughest workload by any means, that kind of performance is going to get you more playing time. With Mackenzie Blackwood hitting a bit of a wall – he’s allowed at least three goals in four of his last five games – Domingue has a chance to take the net for a little bit if he can string together another quality showing tonight.
Here are the projected lineups:
New Jersey Taylor Hall - Nico Hischier - Kyle Palmieri Jesper Boqvist - Jack Hughes - Wayne Simmonds Brett Seney - Travis Zajac - Nikita Gusev Miles Wood - Blake Coleman - Jesper Bratt/John Hayden
Sami Vatanen - P.K. Subban Andy Greene - Damon Severson Will Butcher - Matt Tennyson
Louis Domingue
Minnesota Jason Zucker - Eric Staal - Mats Zuccarello Zach Parise - Mikko Koivu - Kevin Fiala Jordan Greenway - Joel Eriksson Ek - Luke Kunin Ryan Donato - Victor Rask - Ryan Hartman
Ryan Suter - Jared Spurgeon Jonas Brodin - Matt Dumba Carson Soucy - Brad Hunt
Kaapo Kahkonen
Puck drop is just after 7:00 p.m. and can be seen on MSG+, FS-N, and FS-WI.
numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com Recent Posts On tweaking the top line, more run for Bratt, and Vatanen’s PP play