Hockey is back. Finally.
Tonight the New Jersey Devils open their seven-game preseason schedule with a pair of split squad games against Atlantic Division foes.
Jack Hughes, P.K. Subban and co. are playing host to the Boston Bruins while a group featuring Nico Hischier, Kyle Palmieri, and Damon Severson finds itself in Montreal.
Here are the projected lineups:
vs Boston Nikita Gusev - Jack Hughes - Wayne Simmonds Jesper Boqvist - Travis Zajac - Jesper Bratt Miles Wood - Mikhail Maltsev - Joey Anderson Marian Studenic - Yegor Sharangovich - Graeme Clarke
Sami Vatanen - P.K. Subban Andy Greene - Connor Carrick Ty Smith - Josh Jacobs
Cory Schneider Gilles Senn
@ Montreal Blake Coleman - Nico Hischier - Kyle Palmieri Brett Seney - Kevin Rooney - John Hayden Brandon Gignac - Michael McLeod - Nathan Bastian Brandon Baddock - Ben Street - Blake Speers
Will Butcher - Baemon Severson Colton White - Matt Tennyson Dakota Mermis - Mirco Mueller
Mackenzie Blackwood Evan Cormier
A few things to watch against Boston:
1) Sami Vatanen playing the left side. He’s getting the first crack at pairing with P.K. Subban. If he handles the transition adequately – he should be able to given prior experience playing LD – it will make life a lot easier for John Hynes. With Subban, Damon Severson, and Ty Smith (though left-handed, he primarily plays RD) on the right side, being able to shift over Vatanen would allow Hynes to dress his optimal top-6 on a nightly basis.
2) Jesper Boqvist. He opened a lot of eyes at the Prospects Challenge and his strong play carried over into training camp. If he can string together a few solid preseason games, he could very well force his way onto the roster. I’m not betting against him.
3) Cory Schneider. Though he struggled for much of 2018-19, his performance over the final two months of the season rivalled many of the league’s top goaltenders. Goaltending is one of the bigger question marks – the biggest? – on this year’s Devils team so it’d be nice to see him pick up where he left off and start on a positive note.
A few things to watch in Montreal:
1) Michael McLeod. I’m cautiously optimistic he can have a good preseason, which he’ll certainly need to have any chance of making the team. He finished strong at the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo and reports from the scrimmages were positive. It’d be nice to see the 21-year-old, who now has a full season of pro hockey under his belt, translate that success into games against real competition.
2) Nico Hischier. Everyone is excited about Jack Hughes, Nikita Gusev, P.K. Subban and all the new Devils. Understandably so. But let’s not forget about Hischier. He’s already an above average top line center and, this year, I think he’s going to turn into an elite top line center. Tonight should be a good test for him against a Montreal team that, in theory, will ice plenty of quality players on home soil.
3) Depth battles. John Hayden, Kevin Rooney, Brett Seney and Nathan Bastian, among others, are all fighting for *maybe* one regular spot in the lineup. There is a lot of depth in the organization this year, which means guys really need to stand out to earn a job.
Here is how you can watch tonight’s action.
IT'S A (preseason) #NJDEVILS GAME DAY!
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) September 16, 2019
Tonight's home game vs. Boston will be streamed live on our website within our market.
Tonight's away game vs. Montreal is available on TSN2.
LET'S GO! pic.twitter.com/ePourtaWI6
I’ll be back tomorrow with some takeaways and data from tonight’s games. Enjoy!