- The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (11-4-1) @ Chicago Blackhawks (8-5-3)
- The Time: 9:30pm EST
- The Broadcast: TNT, Devils Hockey Radio
Last Devils Game
On Monday night, the Devils lost to the New York Islanders, 3-1. The loss wrapped up a 3 game home stand where on the positive side, they grabbed 5 out of a possible 6 points. Before the home stand, I had commented that it was important to get a few wins/points before heading out on the road for a 5 game road trip. The Devils and Islanders were tied late into the 3rd, before the Islanders scored a power play goal with less than 3 minutes to go in the period. Thanks to Simon Nemec and his 6 on 5 goal with less than 5 seconds
before the buzzer, the Devils tied it up to send the game to OT and secure at least 1 point before losing in OT. It was a game where the Devils deserved at least a point. However, it was the 3rd game in a row for the Devils to be decided in OT, and while they won the last 2, fate was not on their side for a 3rd consecutive OT. By a minor miracle, no one got hurt (as far as I know). That’s a win on its own.
Last Blackhawks Game
On Sunday, the Blackhawks defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 5-1 in Detroit. The game wrapped up their 6 game road trip and was their 3rd consecutive win in a row. The Blackhawks have scored 14 goals in their last 3 games while only surrendering 3. This team can score, and play defense. While they are not back to the same level of their Kane and Toews glory days yet, this current version of the team is also no longer at the same level, as they have been in recent seasons, where they were frequent league basement dwellers either. Tonight’s game against the Devils is the 1st of a 4 game home stand for the Hawks.
Injuries, Roster for Tonight, Yada, Yada, Yada.
Over their last 7 games, the Devils have alternated starting goalies every other game. Assuming the trend continues, I would expect Jake Allen to start tonight against Chicago. I would also expect the trend to continue over the 5 game road trip, as there are no back to back games either. Personally, I prefer Allen over Markstrom at the moment. Markstrom had GAA of 3.08 and a SV% of .875 against the Islanders. He’s going to be here for a while with his new contract, but his season (so far) stats of a whopping 3.82 GAA and .872 SV% just do not inspire confidence at the moment, at least for me.
The Devils did not practice on Tuesday, as it was a travel day. As of this writing, there was no official announcement about the lineup for the game tonight. I don’t expect any changes outside of Allen possibly starting in net and maybe Connor Brown returning to the lineup. That’s only a guess at this point, since he was supposedly due to return as early as last week, since he was involved in practice. I would expect some updates today from Amanda Stein or the team regarding the lineup. However, I wouldn’t expect any major changes from the lineup on Monday night.
I don’t expect any changes tonight to the power play, but I would like to see them mix it up a little with their personnel on each PP unit. Luke Hughes may be able to move the puck well, when quarterbacking the PP, but his shot is absolutely not a threat, at all, right now. It’s a mixed bag of “do you keep him on PP1 and let him figure it out” or do you “put someone else there that might be a better option?” Personally, if it was up to me, I’d like to see Simon Nemec on the 1st PP unit and move Luke for now to PP2. Is that going to happen? Probably not. But then again, I’m not an NHL head coach, so what do I know?
Grimace’s Prediction and 2025-2026 Record Tracker
Fear not Devils Nation, Grimace is both back in the win column with his last prediction AND predicting a win tonight against the Blackhawks. In his words, Chicago is due for a loss after 3 wins in a row, and the Devils…well, are always due for a win.
Grimace’s 2025-2026 Season Prediction record currently stands at 6-2-0.
Your Take
It’s not really fair to complain when your team is tied for 2nd in the NHL (as of this writing). A lot has gone wrong this season, as far as injuries. However, I think everyone on here would have signed up at the beginning of the season for having a record of 11-4-1 and sitting in 2nd place in the league in mid November. Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below and thanks for reading!
