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P4 New Jersey Devils vs New York Rangers: Taylor Hall is back!

September 20, 2019, 10:42 AM ET [96 Comments]
Todd Cordell
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The New Jersey Devils take on the New York Rangers tonight in what will be the fourth of a seven-game preseason schedule.

Here are five things to watch:

1. Taylor Hall’s return

No. 9 will be appearing in his first game since December 23rd of 2018. Yes, it’s been that long. GM Ray Shero added a *ton* of talented players to the roster in the summer and yet getting a healthy Taylor Hall back may be bigger than all of them – at least as it pertains to the upcoming season. Word is he looks as explosive as ever. It’d be nice to see the former Hart Trophy winner showcase some of that tonight.

2. The potential shutdown line

It’s possible – perhaps even likely – Wayne Simmonds ends up on the ‘shutdown line’ if he’s not in the top-6. We know Blake Coleman and Travis Zajac can excel in that role so I’m curious to see what kind of impact Simmonds makes on them. He is effective at finishing checks, protecting the puck down low, and helping sustain possessions. Offensively, I think Simmonds could be a good fit on this kind of unit.

He’s not the best in-zone defender, though, which could be a problem when taking regular shifts against Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, and the top weapons in the Metro. I think a preseason test run makes a lot of sense.

3. Stealing the show

Cory Schneider owns a .936 save percentage through two appearances and has looked as sharp as we’ve seen him in recent years. As the name-brand veteran, Schneider was going to get the benefit of the doubt and enter camp as the lead candidate to start opening night. Nothing we’ve seen from him leaves any reason to change that. If Mackenzie Blackwood wants *any* shot of starting October 4th, he has to string together some truly outstanding performances. We’ll see if he can do it.

4. Andy Greene and P.K. Subban

I don’t think we’re going to see this pairing opening night or on a regular basis. With Sami Vatanen (likely) and Will Butcher on the left side, there are clearly better regular options than the declining veteran. In saying that, if they fare well together I could see them getting some reps late in games while defending leads. It’s another option for John Hynes to put in his back pocket, if not anything else.

5. Offensive involvement

Michael McLeod hasn’t often been involved in the offense when given a chance to play with the big club, be it preseason or otherwise. That hasn’t been the case this year – at least so far. While I thought he was much better against Montreal than New York, he has been one of the team’s leaders in shot contributions two games in a row. He’s going to be relied upon to drive a line again tonight against a weak New York lineup. He has to take advantage.

Here are the projected lineups:

New Jersey

Taylor Hall - Jack Hughes - Kyle Palmieri
Blake Coleman - Travis Zajac - Wayne Simmonds
Marian Studenic - Michael McLeod - Joey Anderson
Brandon Gignac - Ben Street - Blake Speers

Andy Greene - P.K. Subban
Jeremy Groleau - Matt Tennyson
Dakota Mermis - Josh Jacobs

Mackenzie Blackwood
Gilles Senn

New York

Forwards: Ryan Strome, Pavel Buchnevich, Vladislav Namestnikov, Filip Chytil, Jesper Fast, Brett Howden, Phil Di Giuseppe, Michael Haley (again), Vinni Letteri, Steven Fogarty, Gabriel Fontaine, Patrick Newell.

Defensemen: Joe Morrow, Joey Keane, Marc Staal, Tarmo Reunanen, Mason Geertsen, Ryan Lindgren.

Goaltenders: Henrik Lundqvist, Adam Huska.

Puck drop is just after 7 p.m. and can be seen on MSG and MSG+.

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