The ice cold New Jersey Devils are in Ottawa tonight looking to get back on track with a much-needed two points.
Surprisingly, the Devils got off to a fantastic start posting a 9-3-3 record. The wheels have fallen off, though, as they've won just three times in 14 games since and have lost four consecutive games in regulation.
Not only have they lost a ton of games, but they've been completely dominated throughout. Over this 14-game stretch, the Devils have been outshot by 137, out-chanced by 103 and have allowed three or more goals 13(!) times. Yes, the games have been as ugly as they sound.
Meanwhile, the Senators have been one of the surprise stories in the NHL this season. They are off to a solid 16-11-3 start and sit 2nd in the Atlantic Division despite their starting goaltender, Craig Anderson, missing games by the handful as he steps away from the team to be with his wife, Nicholle, and help her fight cancer (kick its ass!).
A big reason they've stayed afloat, besides playing in a weak division, is the play of Mike Condon. He has stepped in and stopped a respectable 91.8% of the shots he's faced. Whether he can sustain that or not remains to be seen, but as it stands he's playing well and keeping the Sens firmly entrenched in the playoff race.
Here are the expected line combinations for New Jersey:
Taylor Hall - Travis Zajac - Kyle Palmieri Miles Wood - Adam Henrique - Mike Cammalleri Sergey Kalinin - Jacob Josefson - Nick Lappin Luke Gazdic - Vern Fiddler - Devante Smith-Pelly
Andy Greene - Damon Severson Jon Merrill - Ben Lovejoy John Moore - Kyle Quincey
Cory Schneider
And the expected lines for the Senators (via dailyfaceoff.com):
Ryan Dzingel - Kyle Turris - Bobby Ryan Zack Smith - Derick Brassard - Mark Stone Tom Pyatt - J.G. Pageau - Curtis Lazar Casey Bailey - Chris Kelly - Chris Neil
Marc Methot - Erik Karlsson Dion Phaneuf - Cody Ceci Ben Harpur - Chris Wideman
Mike Condon
A few notes:
1) As mentioned above, the Devils have allowed three or more in 13 of 14 games. If that happens again their losing streak will almost certainly extend, as the Sens are in the top half of the league when it comes to preventing goals.
2) If the Devils keep things at full-strength they'll have a decent chance of winning this game. On the year both teams control ~47% of the shot attempts and ~46% of the scoring chances. Neither team is particularly good.
3) Henrique hasn't been at his best this season but he does have five points in his last four games. Perhaps he's finally turning a corner.
Tonight's game is scheduled for 7:00 pm eastern and can be seen on Sportsnet 360 and MSG+.
Recent Posts From bad to worse