On Monday night the New Jersey Devils were on the wrong end of a blowout as they fell 7-1 at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks.
That was probably New Jersey's worst overall performance of the season and, after having a few days to chew on it, you can bet they'll come forth with a much better effort tonight against the Minnesota Wild.
While the Wild have had a very mediocre season (by their standards) getting back on track won't be easy as the Wild still have a very talented roster. They have a lot to play for, too, as they're just one point back of Colorado for the final wild card spot and would surely love to take it back by the end of the night.
LINEUPS Kennedy - Henrique - Smith-Pelly Boucher - Zajac - Palmieri Blandisi - Kalinin - Sislo Farnham - Gionta - Ruutu
Greene - Larsson Moore - Schlemko Merrill - Severson
Kinkaid
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Zucker - Koivu - Coyle Parise - Granlund - Vanek Niederreiter - Haula - Fontaine Schroeder - Stoll - Jones
Suter - Spurgeon Dumba - Scandella Brodin - Prosser
Dubnyk
Notes
1) After tallying 12 points in his first 46 games Smith-Pelly has caught fire with the Devils tallying six points in six games. The Devils have been better in possession with him on the ice, too. He's not going to continue scoring at this pace but he is playing well and it's encouraging that he's contributing more than just points.
2) The Boucher - Zajac - Palmieri line has been struggling at 5 v 5 as, in ~115 minutes together, they've controlled just 43% of the shot attempts, 40% of the shots and 45% of the goals. They need to be better.
3) One thing Keith Kinkaid has struggled with this season is consistency. In his last five starts, for example, he's allowed six goals, one goal, zero goals, six goals and four goals. The Devils don't score much so they need good goaltending to have a chance. Will they get that tonight?
The game is at 7:00 eastern and can be seen on MSG and FS-N.
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