Five things to watch when the New Jersey Devils take on the Buffalo Sabres:
1. Taylor Hall's return The Devils played three games without their best player last week and, well, things didn't go overly well.
The effort was there but the results were not as the Devils dropped three consecutive games in regulation and scored just twice during that span.
Part of that was luck driven – there were a *lot* of posts – but I'm inclined to believe not having the team's leading point producer and chance generator was also a huge factor.
The good news is Hall is back and, hopefully, healthier than he was the last time he appeared in a game 10 days ago.
The Devils need that to be the case, and for Hall to pick up where he left off, because they've lost some punch with Marcus Johansson out and the early-season success stories in the bottom-6 regressing offensively.
2. Miles Wood stepping up
He has been pretty solid all season long but especially so of late. Over the last 10 games, he leads the team in shots and scoring chances at 5v5 while also posting an impressive 55.7 Corsi For% during that span. With Johansson out, he's getting a good opportunity on the 2nd line and I think he's going to take advantage of it.
3. A powerless power play Buffalo enters this game tied for 31st with a +15 goal differential on the man advantage. They've given up eight short handed markers – 2nd only to the Islanders for most allowed – and are going up against a Devils team that ranks 1st in expected goals for/60 and tied for 2nd in actual goals for on the penalty kill. Don't be surprised if the Devils are able to go on the attack and generate some offense while down a man. They had no problem doing that last time they were in Buffalo (Jesper Bratt scored a shorty).
4. Jack Eichel In my opinion, Eichel is the most under-appreciated star in the league. He gets absolutely no help and still finds a way to produce at an elite clip.
This season Eichel has been on the ice for 31 Buffalo goals at 5v5. He has managed to pick up a point on 27 of them (87%), which is ridiculous. For perspective, Hall has been involved in 27 of 37 goals at 5v5 (73%) and we all know how incredible he has played this year.
Eichel is playing his best hockey right now – he has 12 goals, 25 points, and 77 shots over his last 17 games – so the Devils are going to have their hands full with him.
5. 5v5 play Only four teams have taken fewer penalties than Buffalo this year, and they have a positive penalty differential, so don't expect them to parade to the penalty box and hand the Devils the game. They're going to need to get things done at 5v5 where the Sabres have been pretty stingy of late (they rank 3rd in chances against/60 over the last 10 games).
Here are the projected lineups:
New Jersey
Taylor Hall - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt Miles Wood - Pavel Zacha - Kyle Palmieri Blake Coleman - Travis Zajac - Stefan Noesen Drew Stafford - Brian Boyle - Jimmy Hayes
Andy Greene - Sami Vatanen John Moore - Damon Severson Will Butcher - Ben Lovejoy
Keith Kinkaid
Buffalo (via DailyFaceoff.com)
Zemgus Girgensons - Jack Eichel - Kyle Okposo Scott Wilson - Ryan O'Reilly - Sam Reinhart Evander Kane - Johan Larsson - Jason Pominville Benoit Pouliot - Evan Rodrigues - Nick Baptiste
Marco Scandella - Rasmus Ristolainen Jake McCabe - Viktor Antipin Justin Falk - Casey Nelson
Robin Lehner
Puck drop is just after 7:00 p.m. Eastern and can be seen on MSG+2 and MSG-B.