After a one-day break for Thanksgiving, the NHL returns with 15 games to enjoy on Black Friday, including the New Jersey Devils, who will visit the Buffalo Sabres for a matinee matchup at 4:00 P.M. The Devils just beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in overtime at home on Wednesday, Nov. 26, before the break.
Related: New Jersey Devils Quarter-Season Check-In
The Sabres are on the opposite side of the win column after a 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, and will be looking for a win at home today.
Devils Storylines
Head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed that Evgenii Dadonov will miss some time after suffering an undisclosed injury against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday. Dadonov was injured in the season opener and missed 17 games with a fractured hand. He finally returned to the ice on Nov. 18 and played in four games before this latest injury.
Simon Nemec is on a tear. He scored the overtime winner against the Blues, his second of the season. He has 14 points through 23 games this season and also has a plus-8 rating. After his performance last season, many were unsure if he was ready for the NHL. He has proven those doubters wrong so far.
The player to watch in this game is Nico Hischier. He scored a power-play goal against the Blues on Wednesday and recorded an assist on Timo Meier’s goal. He was bumped up to center the first line after Jack Hughes’ injury, and alongside Meier and Jesper Bratt, Hischier is finding great success with four goals and eight points in his last three games.
Team Stats
New Jersey Devils
Season Record: 15-7-1
Top Scorers:
- Jesper Bratt – 5 goals (G), 17 assists (A), 22 points (P)
- Nico Hischier – 8 G 13 A, 21 P
- Jack Hughes – 10 G, 10 A, 20 P
- Timo Meier – 8 G, 11 A, 19 P
- Dawson Mercer – 9 G, 8 A, 17 P
Goalie Stats:
- Jake Allen – 7-4-0, 2.46 goals-against average (GAA), .908 save percentage (SV%)
- Jacob Markstrom – 7-3-1, 3.56 GAA, .874 SV%
- Nico Daws – 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .968 SV%
Buffalo Sabres
Season Record: 9-10-4
Top Scorers:
- Tage Thompson – 12 G, 9 A, 21 P
- Alex Tuch – 8 G, 13 A, 21 P
- Rasmus Dahlin – 1 G, 15 A, 16 P
- Josh Doan – 7 G, 8 A, 15 P
- Ryan McLeod – 5 G, 9 A, 14 P
Goalie Stats:
- Alex Lyon – 3-5-3, 3.07 GAA, .907 SV%
- Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – 3-3-1, 2.73 GAA, .891 SV%
- Colten Ellis – 3-2-0, 3.41 GAA, .896 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
New Jersey Devils
Timo Meier — Nico Hischier — Jesper Bratt
Ondrej Palat — Dawson Mercer — Arseni Gritsyuk
Paul Cotter — Cody Glass — Connor Brown
Juho Lammikko — Luke Glendening — Stefan Noesen
Jonas Siegenthaler — Dougie Hamilton
Luke Hughes — Simon Nemec
Brenden Dillon — Colton White
Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen
Scratched: Dennis Cholowski
Injured: Evgenii Dadonov, Jack Hughes, Zack MacEwen, Marc McLaughlin, Johnathan Kovacevic, Brett Pesce
Buffalo Sabres
Josh Doan — Tage Thompson — Alex Tuch
Jason Zucker — Ryan McLeod — Jack Quinn
Zach Benson — Noah Ostlund — Tyson Kozak
Josh Dunne — Peyton Krebs — Beck Malenstyn
Rasmus Dahlin — Mattias Samuelsson
Bowen Byram — Conor Timmins
Owen Power — Jacob Bryson
Alex Lyon
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Scratched: Jordan Greenway, Zach Metsa, Colten Ellis
Injured: Joshua Norris, Jiri Kulich, Justin Danforth, Michael Kesselring
Up Next for the Devils
The Devils will play their second half of a back-to-back when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, Nov. 28, at 7 P.M.
