The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (11-5-0) at the New York Islanders (7-6-2)
The Time: 7:00 PM EST
The Broadcast: TV — MSGSN2, MSGSN/DAZN Streaming; Radio — Devils Hockey Network
Staying Hot
The New Jersey Devils have won seven of their last eight games. And yes, the last two games have gone to overtime, with the Oilers game going to a shootout. But in most cases, both games are situations where the Devils could and should win in regulation. With their only “stinker” coming in the second half of a back-to-back
in Colorado, which is historically a situation rarely assigned out on NHL schedules, the Devils are officially rolling.
The big question tonight, then, is how much they want to respond to the Islanders for their 6-0 drubbing of them back on October 3. It has seemed at times that the Islanders just have the Devils’ number in the regular season over the last couple of years despite being a mediocre team. Some of this hinges on Ilya Sorokin being one of the best few goaltenders in the league. Some of it hinges on the Devils inexplicably forgetting how to play defense around their goaltender against the Islanders. Some of it used to hinge on the Devils’ goaltender being Jacob Markstrom.
The Islanders
The Islanders are dealing with some injuries. Mathew Barzal, who has not played this season, is still in a non-contact jersey. Ryan Pulock and Matias Maccelli are also in non-contact jerseys, though this will be a change for the Devils from the last time these two teams played. Maccelli being out of the lineup has been a serious blow for the Islanders, as he had six points in eight games before going down. Since Maccelli got hurt, his team is 3-3-1.
There are other issues for the Islanders. Old friend Kyle Palmieri, who suffered a torn ACL last season, has not been his usual self with only three goals and an assist in 15 games. Former Devil Ondrej Palat also only has two goals and two assists. And Anthony DeAngelo is having one of his bad years, with just four points so far to go along with poor defensive results. The depth and secondary support is simply not there for Peter DeBoer right now.
However, some things have remained unchanged. Matthew Schaefer is a threat any time he is on the ice, as he currently has a point per game. Bo Horvat has seven goals and seven assists. And there is even good news for the Islanders, as Brayden Schenn has turned the clock back a bit with five goals and six assists. Key for the Devils tonight will be keeping a close watch on Schaefer and Horvat on their power play, as Horvat has four of their seven power play goals this season, with Schaefer assisting on four power play goals.
The Devils should also not expect this to be the day their power play starts working. The Islanders have killed 86.54% of their penalties, as Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock (injured), Logan Stnaley, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Simon Holmstrom, and Bo Horvat have been good or excellent penalty killers for them. In more limited minutes, Emil Heineman and Scott Mayfield have also been great in disadvantaged situations — and we should see Mayfield tonight due to Pulock’s injury. DeBoer really seems like he is coaching a team from 10 or 15 years ago.
The key tonight is to force the Islanders to defend at five-on-five, because special teams are generally unlikely to win this kind of game. Natural Stat Trick does not regard much of their team as particularly strong five-on-five players, though Matthew Schaefer, Emil Heineman, Logan Stanley, and Bo Horvat have largely been exceptions to that. We can expect Heineman to line up with Horvat and Palmieri tonight, so that should be their most dangerous line.
Back-to-Back Decisions
Given this is the first half of a back-to-back, the Devils have some important things to consider. First is: should Connor Hellebuyck or Jake Allen play this game? While I thought Allen probably should have played against the Blues, he did not, and Sheldon Keefe mentioned postgame that he thought Hellebuyck looked tired in the third period. While tomorrow has a tougher opponent in the Toronto Maple Leafs, I am trying to look ahead on the schedule here. If Hellebuyck is feeling better today, I would like to see him go tonight, giving him an extra day of rest before Tuesday night’s matchup in Winnipeg. However, as Keefe mentioned, Thursday was the first time this year he played a second game in a row on one-day rest. He may opt to give him the day today.
Tonight is also a big night for the bottom six to take some minutes off of the top six. The Islanders are not a deep team, and I would like to see how much Keefe trusts his third and fourth lines. Would he consider trying to shut the Horvat line down with Cody Glass or Evan Rodrigues? Do they pick up a few extra minutes tonight?
I am also wondering if Brenden Dillon draws back in tonight. Jonas Siegenthaler and Declan Chisholm both had injury scares on Thursday, with Siegenthaler being boarded by Ross Johnston and Chisholm taking a puck to the ear. I think the Devils need their full strength tomorrow, so this would be one of the situations I would think you can hope that Dillon can play a responsible veteran game for 15-20 minutes. That said, Keefe could go the opposite way with this, taking some minutes away from Luke Hughes and putting more on someone like Chisholm, especially if the Devils are defending with a lead at any point tonight. Luke has been playing a ton of minutes lately, and he is handling it very well. However, I don’t want to see him tired at the end of tomorrow night like he was in Colorado.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of tonight’s game? Do you think the Devils will get revenge on the Islanders? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and thanks for reading.
