The Anaheim Ducks return home after a less than thrilling 0-3-1 road trip to host the suddenly decent New Jersey Devils.
New Jersey Devils (7-8-5) at Anaheim Ducks (15-6-2)
The Ducks have been the talk of the town over the first 20 games of the NHL season, but the law of averages, injuries and illness has taken its toll on the club. That said, the Ducks are back in Anaheim were they have been more than dominant.
Anaheim is 8-0-0 at the Honda Center and is outscoring its opponents 35-13 in those eight games. Ryan Getzlaf is still white hot and is on a four-game point streak. He has five goals and eight points during the streak.
The Devils have struggled for most of the season ,especially on the road where they are 3-6-3 away from Newark. The team went through a major transformation over the summer. Gone are Ilya Kovachuk and David Clarkson - in are Ryan Clowe (OUT), Jaromir Jagr, Michael Ryder, Cory Schneider and Damien Brunner.
It has taken nearly the first quarter of the season for the Devils to finally find a groove. Jagr has been the best Devils forward and young defenders Eric Gelinas and Adam Larson have injected fresh blood and skill into an aging veteran core of defensemen.
Tonight marks the first game of a crucial three game west coast swing for the Devils. They face the Ducks tonight then head to L.A. tomorrow before finishing in San Jose on Saturday.
I also cover the Devils for Hockey This Week. Read my take on the importance of these next three games for New Jersey HERE: Devils Hit the Road on Critical West Coast Swing
Head coach Pete Deboer has used both Martin Brodeur and Schneider regularly, but it is Brodeur that has been red hot lately and will get the start in Anaheim.
The 41-year old future Hall of Famer is 14-6-0 with a tie and a 1.82 goals against average in 21 career outings against the Ducks.
Jonas Hiller gets the call for the Ducks. Hiller is 1-2-1 with a 1.98 GAA in four career games against the Devils.
New Jersey has victories in three of its past four games and is 4-1-1 over the last six games. The Devils have been off for a few days, having last played on Saturday when they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 at the Prudential Center. They should be the fresher team, with the Ducks having lost 3-1 to those same Penguins on Monday night.
I like the Ducks to get back on track tonight at home...although the Devils do need the points more....tough call.
Todd Cordell has a pretty good run down of the Devils here NHL Gameday Preview: New Jersey Devils @ Anaheim Ducks - Game 21 Follow me on Twitter! @StevePalumboHTW
On Facebook at StevePalumboNHL
Email me at StevePalumboNHL@gmail.com