The New Jersey Devils will be looking to snap their ridiculously long home losing streak tonight when they play host to the Buffalo Sabres.
The Devils, who find themselves five points out of a playoff spot, have lost seven in a row at the Prudential Center and have recorded points in just two of those contests. For weeks they have been completely inept when playing in their own building and it's one of the reasons they are closer to last in the East than the second Wild Card slot.
They are coming off a convincing win over the powerhouse Columbus Blue Jackets(!), though, so perhaps they can carry the confidence gained from that game and parlay it into another win tonight.
Buffalo is tied for last in the East with 52 points, and have only won nine times in 27 tries away from home, so this is a game the Devils could, and should, have.
Here are the expected line combinations for New Jersey:
Taylor Hall - Travis Zajac - Kyle Palmieri Miles Wood - Adam Henrique - Mike Cammalleri Pavel Zacha - Jacob Josefson - Stefan Noesen Joseph Blandisi - Sergey Kalinin - P.A. Parenteau
Andy Greene - Damon Severson Karl Stollery - Ben Lovejoy Seth Helgeson - Steve Santini
Cory Schneider
And the expected lines for the Sabres (via dailyfaceoff.com):
Marcus Foligno - Jack Eichel - Sam Reinhart Matt Moulson - Ryan O'Reilly - Kyle Okposo Evander Kane - Zemgus Girgensons - Brian Gionta Tyler Ennis - Nic Deslauriers - Justin Bailey
Dmitry Kulikov - Rasmus Ristolainen Josh Gorges - Cody Franson Jake McCabe - Justin Falk
Robin Lehner
A few notes:
1) The Devils have picked up five of a possible six points over their last three games and Hall is a big reason why. In that span, he has four points, 13 shots and has looked like a man possessed.
2) Kane enters tonight's game playing some of the best hockey of his career as he's tallied eight points and 38 shots(!) over his last eight games. He is shooting from everywhere and creating a lot of good looks for himself so the Devils will need to pay close attention to him.
3) Both teams rank bottom-6 in 5v5 shot attempts per 60 minutes and 5v5 goals/60 so don't expect a high-event, high-paced game.
Tonight's game is scheduled for 7:00 and can be seen on MSG+ and MSG-B.