The New Jersey Devils take on the Anaheim Ducks tonight and are looking to pick up their sixth consecutive win, and third straight on the road, in the process.
While the Ducks lead the Pacific Division, and own a solid 5-2-0 record on home soil, this is certainly a winnable game for the Devils; even without Taylor Hall and Mike Cammalleri.
The Ducks are a decent team but they lost a lot of good depth players in the summer. The likes of David Perron, Brandon Pirri, Jamie McGinn and Chris Stewart, among others, all moved on and the only guys brought in to replace them were Antoine Vermette and Jared Boll. Vermette is not the player he once was and Boll doesn't bring much more than the occasional big hit to the table. Factor in the Ducks ridded themselves of one of the best coaches in the NHL and it should be no surprise their possession and scoring chance numbers are noticeably down this season.
Starting the year without Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell factors into that but the Ducks' underlying numbers haven't exactly been great even with their returns.
The Ducks won't be pushovers - they have too many high-end guys to have their clocks cleaned - but the Devils beat them earlier in the season and there is no reason they can't do it again tonight.
Here is a look at the lineup the Devils are expected to go with:
Beau Bennett - Travis Zajac - P.A. Parenteau Pavel Zacha - Adam Henrique - Kyle Palmieri Reid Boucher - Jacob Josefson - Devante Smith-Pelly Sergey Kalinin - Vern Fiddler - Nick Lappin
Andy Greene - Damon Severson Yohann Auvitu - Ben Lovejoy John Moore - Kyle Quincey
Cory Schneider
And the expected lines for the Ducks:
Nick Ritchie - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry Andrew Cogliano - Ryan Kesler - Jakob Silfverberg Joseph Cramarossa - Antoine Vermette - Rickard Rakell Ryan Garbutt - Logan Shaw - Jared Boll
Cam Fowler - Josh Manson Hampus Lindholm - Kevin Bieksa Clayton Stone - Sami Vatanen
John Gibson
A few notes:
1) The Devils and Ducks are both bottom-6 in shot attempts for per 60 minutes of five-on-five play. Both teams play slow paced, grind-it-out-type games so we probably won't see a ton of action in this one.
2) The Bennett - Zajac - Parenteau line was absolutely dominant against the Stars the other night. Will there be a repeat performance?
3) The Ducks are controlling ~41% of the shot attempt and ~39% of the scoring chances with Bieksa on the ice. He is on a serious decline and has been exposed on a nightly basis. He is paired with a great player but the Devils should target him whenever possible. Attack him with speed, target him with zone entries and reap the rewards.
Tonight's game is scheduled for 10:00 pm eastern and can be seen on MSG+ and PRIME.
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