Five things to watch when the New Jersey Devils take on the St. Louis Blues:
1. Uphill sledding New Jersey's 5v5 offense is putrid right now. It has been for some time, and there's not much reason to believe things will change tonight. The Devils, who rank 31st in both shot attempts and high-danger chances for/60 over the last 10 games, have the luxury of taking on a Blues team that slots 9th in attempts against and 5th in high-danger chances against/60 during that span – and that's after conceding 66 attempts and 12 high-danger looks (at 5v5) to Nashville last time out.
If the Devils score enough to win, it'll likely be due to efficient finishing as opposed to generating volume.
2. St. Louis' lethal top line The Blues are putting all their eggs in one basket with Brayden Schenn, Ryan O'Reilly, and Vladimir Tarasenko skating together on the top unit. It's hard to argue the decision given the early returns. With that trio on the ice, the Blues are averaging better than 70 attempts, 37 chances, and five goals per 60. Those numbers should dip as the sample size grows but it puts into perspective just how dangerous they can be.
I'm guessing they'll see a lot of Marcus Johansson, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt, a line that has fared quite well defensively in ~60 minutes together. We'll see if they can hold up in what will surely be their most difficult test yet.
3. New Jersey's power play As I've alluded to time and time again, the Devils are having a hell of a time creating offense at 5v5. That means they need their power play to help out. It hasn't of late, with the Devils converting just once in more than 30 minutes of work over the last five games. The Blues sit 24 in goals against/60 while down a man so perhaps the Devils will have better luck in this one.
4. MJ90 Johansson leads the Devils in 5v5 goals, shot attempts, shots, scoring chances, and Corsi For% over the last five games. A slow start and injuries hampered him but he's really starting to find his game. At the right time, too. If he keeps playing like this, and a contract extension is not in the cards, the Devils may actually fetch something worthwhile in a trade.
5. A lack of depth shining through Top line aside, Kevin Rooney is the only forward in the Devils lineup with more than one (1) 5v5 point over the last six games. Every single one of them has a sub 45 Corsi For% during that stretch, too. While the Blues' depth isn't as strong as most expected, the bottom portion of their roster should enjoy success against New Jersey's.
Here are the projected lineups.
New Jersey Devils
Marcus Johansson - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt Blake Coleman - Travis Zajac - Kyle Palmieri Nick Lappin - Pavel Zacha - Drew Stafford Brett Seney - Kevin Rooney - Kurtis Gabriel
Andy Greene - Damon Severson Will Butcher - Ben Lovejoy Mirco Mueller - Eric Gryba
Keith Kinkaid/Cory Schneider
St. Louis (via DailyFaceoff.com)
Brayden Schenn - Ryan O'Reilly - Vladimir Tarasenko Jaden Schwartz - Tyler Bozak - Alex Steen Zach Sanford - Oskar Sundqvist - Patrick Maroon Mackenzie MacEachern - Ivan Barbashev - Robert Thomas
Joel Edmundson - Alex Pietrangelo Jay Bouwmeester - Colton Parayko Vince Dunn - Robert Bortuzzo
Jordan Binnington
Puck drop is just after 8:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on MSG+ and FS-MW.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com and Corsica.Hockey
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