Five things to watch when the New Jersey Devils take on the Winnipeg Jets:
1. The Laine line The Jets' new-look '2nd line' of Nik Ehlers, Paul Stastny, and Patrik Laine has been just as good as everyone thought it would be. Perhaps even better.
In just under 50 minutes together, they've controlled 58% of the shot attempts and out-scored their opponents 8-1. Yes, they have a +7 goal differential in less than 50 minutes. That's incredible.
With Mark Scheifele likely out, it seems like a good bet the Andy Greene - Sami Vatanen pairing will be assigned to that trio. They'll have their hands full.
2. Cory Schneider He has dropped nine consecutive starts and allowed at least three goals in each of them. The Devils have a very challenging schedule ahead so they're going to need their No. 1 goaltender on his game. If Schneider doesn't get back on track – and fast – the Devils are in danger of slipping out of the playoffs entirely. It's time for him to step up and show why he's pulling in $6 million per season.
3. Sami Vatanen Taylor Hall's point streak is getting a ton of publicity, and rightfully so, but it's taking away from the fact Vatanen has quietly been in beast mode of late.
Vatanen has 11 points and 53 shot attempts over the last 10 games, the latter of which ties him with Kyle Palmieri for the team-lead.
He's bringing a lot of offense to the table while also logging big minutes against top competition on a nightly basis.
4. Special teams They will be very important in this game. Winnipeg ranks 2nd in the league in power play goals and they have plenty of elite talent to throw out – including arguably the best sniper in the league.
On the other side of things, Winnipeg ranks 31st in attempts against/60 and 25th in expected goals against/60 while down a man. Even though the Devils have been hit or miss while up a man, it's a very favorable matchup for them.
If either team runs into penalty trouble, they'll almost certainly pay the price.
5. Taylor Hall Hall has recorded a point in every game since the beginning of time so that's always going to be a storyline. With the Devils in desperate need of points, and playing an elite team, I think this has the makings of a game where John Hynes runs Hall into the ground and gives him 20+ minutes of ice. If that's the case, he should have plenty of opportunities to extend his streak to 27 games.
Here are the projected lineups:
New Jersey
Taylor Hall - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt Michael Grabner - Travis Zajac - Kyle Palmieri Patrick Maroon - Blake Coleman - Stefan Noesen Miles Wood - Brian Boyle - Brian Gibbons
Andy Greene - Sami Vatanen John Moore - Damon Severson Will Butcher - Ben Lovejoy
Cory Schneider
Winnipeg (via DailyFaceoff.com)
Kyle Connor - Bryan Little - Blake Wheeler Nik Ehlers - Paul Stastny - Patrik Laine Mathieu Perreault - Andrew Copp - Jack Roslovic Brandon Tanev - Matt Hendricks - Joel Armia
Josh Morrissey - Dustin Byfuglien Dmitry Kulikov - Tyler Myers Tobias Enstrom - Ben Chiarot
Connor Hellebuyck
Puck drop is just after 7:00 p.m. Eastern and can be seen on MSG+ and TSN2.