The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (32-30-2) versus the Calgary Flames (25-32-7).
The Time: 7:00 PM EDT
The Broadcast: TV — MSGSN; Radio — Devils Hockey Network
Roller Coaster Vibes
After the Devils had a four-game winning streak going, with the chance to take advantage of a hurting Detroit Red Wings team. But a 3-0 shutout loss put the vibes in this team back in the toilet. Sheldon Keefe swapped Arseny Gritsyuk with Jesper Bratt in the lineup during the game, reuniting Bratt with Jack Hughes and putting Gritsyuk back with Cody
Glass and Lenni Hameenaho, hoping to spark more offense. It did not. However, Keefe will keep those lines together again tonight against the Flames. I personally enjoyed having three big transition threats in Hischier/Meier, Hughes/Gritsyuk, and Bratt/Glass, but I suppose I should trust Hughes and Bratt to convert on offense more often.
The Devils have a pretty good chance to win tonight against the Calgary Flames, though, regardless of the lineup choices. The Flames traded three of their best players away in Rasmus Andersson, MacKenzie Weegar, and Nazem Kadri, leaving them with a rather thin roster. In their last game against the New York Rangers, which they lost 4-0, this was their lineup:
Joel Farabee — Morgan Frost — Blake Coleman
Connor Zary — Ryan Strome — Matvei Gridin
Yegor Sharangovich — Mikael Backlund — Matt Coronato
Victor Olofsson — Martin Pospisil — Adam KlapkaKevin Bahl — Olli Maatta
Yan Kuznetsov — Zayne Parekh
Joel Hanley — Brayden Pachal
The Flames are still missing Jonathan Huberdeau, who is on injured reserve, as well as Zach Whitecloud. The Devils will thus have the opportunity to take advantage of a weakened Calgary defense, which is very reliant on that top pairing. Perhaps Olli Maatta will prove that he can still handle top-pairing minutes, but those bottom four are not really the types to be trusted with big minutes, though Kuznetsov has played them this season. Parekh, who should be good one day, is still too young for a second-pairing role.
Offensively, I would be surprised to see Backlund play truly third-line minutes, though I doubt the Flames are trying to win this game and they might just hold him to 15-17 minutes. He is far and away the best center on the Flames. While I would not enjoy seeing them get going today, I think the Sharangovich-Backlund duo has potential for next season if Sharangovich can get on one of his shot shooting streaks, though I would be concerned about Coronato’s defensive game if I were the Flames. Asking Backlund to babysit two offense-first wingers might not always work out. I would keep an eye on the 20-year old Gridin tonight, as well, as he has eight points in his first 20 NHL games and shoots from his off-wing. He is, however, not yet used to the NHL defensive game, though his offensive ceiling seems pretty solid so far.
More Minutes for the Youth
Recently, Jackson wrote about what he wants to see from each New Jersey Devil for the rest of the season. James also wrote about the case to recall Topias Vilen from Utica, in case one or two defenders get moved out this offseason. This leads me to something I want to see from the New Jersey Devils coaching staff for the remainder of the season. I want to see the youngest players on the team play more and more of the minutes. I want to see:
- Luke Hughes on the first power play, with or without Dougie Hamilton
- Luke Hughes log 24+ minutes a game
- Simon Nemec log 20+ minutes a game
- Hughes and Nemec both on the penalty kill (especially Hughes, who I think has been really good in limited PK use this season)
- Lenni Hameenaho log 16+ minutes a game
- Cody Glass log 16+ minutes a game, including PP2 and PK1 time
- Arseny Gritsyuk log 18+ minutes a game
The above would require some minute reductions for older players, but the youth of the team need as much playing time as possible if they are going to become the kind of top players that the Devils need. If Simon Nemec wants a big contract, maybe he could show us 15 points and good defense over the remainder of the season. If Cody Glass wants to be a permanent third-line center, maybe he could show us that he can consistently win his matchups with more minutes. If Arseny Gritsyuk wants to reach his full potential, he needs to score more often, getting to the dots before firing his shots and getting to the net with consistency. The Flames are not a huge challenge, though they still have an underperforming roster in some spots, so this is a good opportunity for Keefe to give the young guys more ice time.
The Devils can only lose 2-3 more games before being effectively eliminated, so there is little reason to hold these guys back.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of tonight’s game? Do you think the Flames will put up a fight? Who will start in goal? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.
