The New Jersey Devils kick off their preseason schedule with a pair of split squad games today.
The Devils will play host to the Philadelphia Flyers at 7:00 eastern. They will also take on the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal at 7:30.
Here is the lineup they'll go with against the Flyers:
Beau Bennett - Travis Zajac - Mike Cammalleri Blake Coleman - Jacob Josefson - Brian Gibbons Nick Lappin - Pavel Zacha - Sergey Kalinin Miles Wood - Carter Camper - Luke Gazdic
Andy Greene - Damon Severson Colton White - Ben Lovejoy Brandon Gormley - Reece Scarlett
Keith Kinkaid Anders Lindback
And their lineup in Montreal:
Taylor Hall - Adam Henrique - Devante Smith-Pelly Blake Speers - Michael McLeod - Joseph Blandisi Nathan Bastian - Vern Fiddler - John Quenneville Blake Pietila - Ben Sexton - Ben Thomson
John Moore - Vojtech Mozik Jon Merrill - Steven Santini Yohann Auvitu - Joshua Jacobs
Scott Wedgewood Mackenzie Blackwood
A few notes:
1) Considering Auvitu and Merrill are essentially fighting for the same spot in the lineup I like that they're on separate pairings and will be playing on their strong sides. We'll be able to get a good look at where Auvitu is at and Merrill will be given a fair shake to see if he can take a step forward without any factors working against him (like playing on the wrong side).
2) Since Wedgewood and Kinkaid both require waivers to be sent to Albany they're on equal footing heading into the preseason. Their play over the next couple weeks will determine who sticks with the big club. The battle begins tonight.
3) I'm interested to see how Steven Santini fares given he's playing with Merrill and they could very well be the Devils' 3rd pairing. Playing against watered down lineups it'd be nice to that pairing stand out in a positive way.
4) Since the day Adam Larsson was traded a top pairing of Andy Greene and Damon Severson has made the most sense to me. I'm glad the Devils are starting with that duo. I think they could be really good together - they have been in the past.
5) Pavel Zacha starting at center is interesting considering the Devils have Zajac, Henrique, Josefson and Fiddler on the roster and all are locks for NHL jobs. I think the ideal scenario is for Zacha to center a 3rd scoring line, if you will, and one of Josefson or Fiddler to play wing in the bottom-6.
Note: The Devils will not be televising or streaming either game, however, there's no word on if the Flyers have plans to do so. The Montreal game will be aired on RDS so it is possible a stream becomes made available online. Be on the look out.