The New Jersey Devils take on the Boston Bruins tonight in their second to last preseason game.
Here are four things to watch:
1. Do or die Ty Smith entered camp with a great chance of making the team. Basically, if he showed up and played reasonably well he’d almost certainly crack the top-6. He didn’t need to be great. Good would have been enough. Unfortunately, good is not a word I’d use to describe his performance. He’s been a little sloppy with the puck and quite loose around the net without it. That’s not something John Hynes will ever put up with, as we saw with his handling of Damon Severson – especially in the first year or two – after taking over as the bench boss. Hynes has publicly said he needs to see more from Smith. He has also publicly praised competition (such as Matt Tennyson). It’s no secret the Devils want more from Smith and this could very well be his last chance to prove himself. He has to play well tonight.
2. Miles Wood showing a pulse Perhaps no established roster player has had a worse, or more disappointing, training camp. A lot of people thought less responsibility and softer competition would be good for Wood’s chances of bouncing back. That hasn’t been the case at all. Wood has not looked good, and his play has been even more concerning analytically. That’s saying something. Realistically speaking, Wood is making the team. He just is. You’re not waiving a fast, physical 24-year-old who scored at a 20-goal pace in 2017-18. With that said, if Jesper Boqvist makes the team – he should – and the coaching staff likes what they’ve seen from John Hayden, they could very well sit Wood on opening night. He’s gotta show something – anything! – over the next game or two.
3. Forcing waivers Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian have both made cases for spots in different ways. McLeod has been solid – at least in terms of offensive involvement – this preseason while Bastian showed well in a depth role down the stretch last season. If they’re going to force their way onto the roster, they’re going to have to take jobs from players who would require waivers to be sent down (Kevin Rooney, John Hayden, etc.). I doubt the Devils want to go that route – especially with Hayden – so McLeod and Bastian will *really* have to impress to have a shot at making the 23-man roster. Personally, I expect both to be sent down.
4. A test drive for the new 2nd line With the way things are shaping up, we’ll probably see Nico center Hall and Palmieri while Zajac might start out with the Jespers. That’d leave Gusev, Hughes, and Simmonds as the other top-9 line. Gusev and Hughes have shown good chemistry in their limited time together and I thought Simmonds played pretty well in his debut. It’d be nice to see this trio put together a good showing – especially against a watered down lineup – considering they could very well be a thing on opening night.
Here are the projected lineups:
New Jersey
Jesper Boqvist - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt Nikita Gusev - Jack Hughes - Wayne Simmonds Blake Coleman - Michael McLeod - Nathan Bastian Miles Wood - Kevin Rooney - John Hayden
Andy Greene - Damon Severson Ty Smith - Matt Tennyson Mirco Mueller - Connor Carrick
Mackenzie Blackwood Cory Schneider
Boston Bjork – Lindholm – Backes Heinen – Frederic – Kuhlman Carey – Studnicka – Steen Fitzgerald – Shen – Senyshyn
Grzelcyk – McAvoy Krug – Carlo Lauzon – Kampfer
Halak Lagace
Puck drop is just after 7 p.m. and can be seen on NESNplus.