The New Jersey Devils just had a three-game homestand where they did the impossible: they continued their hot start to the season and are now on an eight-game winning streak. The Devils just hosted the Colorado Avalanche and beat them in overtime to get them to their eighth straight win. They’re hitting the road for their first West Coast road trip and will look to get their ninth straight victory against the team they just defeated, the Avalanche.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Devils’ Dramatic OT Victory Over Colorado
The Avalanche are heading back to Ball Arena after a two-game East Coast road trip. They are currently on a four-game losing streak. Colorado will look to get back in the win column in their home arena.
Devils Storylines
On Oct. 26, Brett Pesce only played a total of 6:07 after sustaining an upper-body injury in the first period. After the game, coach Sheldon Keefe stated he was “not great” and would not be traveling with the team for their next four games.
In Pesce’s absence, the Devils will need someone to fill out one of the defensive roster spots. In order to do this, New Jersey called up Seamus Casey from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Utica Comets. In the AHL, Casey has only played one game but recorded one assist.
While Casey was called up, the Devils also sent Nico Daws back down to the AHL. This is a great sign of Jacob Markstrom’s return to the crease. He was dressed as Jake Allen’s backup goaltender on Oct. 26 and is also traveling with the team on this West Coast road trip. More than likely, Allen will start again in Colorado with all the success he has been having with the team.
The player to watch in this game is Simon Nemec. Of the four goals the Devils scored in their last game, he recorded three primary assists. He has seven assists so far this season and is searching for his first goal. As he is likely playing alongside Luke Hughes in Pesce’s absence, he will have more ice time to try and achieve this goal.
Team Stats
New Jersey Devils
Season Record: 7-1-0
Top Scorers:
- Jack Hughes – 8 goals (G), 4 assists (A), 12 points (P)
- Jesper Bratt – 4 G, 7 A, 11 P
- Nico Hischier – 2 G, 7 A, 9 P
- Timo Meier – 3 G, 5 A, 8 P
- Dawson Mercer – 3 G, 5 A, 8 P
Goalie Stats:
- Jake Allen – 5-0-0, 1.93 goals-against average (GAA), .923 save percentage (SV%)
- Jacob Markstrom – 2-1-0, 3.89 GAA, .845 SV%
- Nico Daws – 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .968 SV%
Colorado Avalanche
Season Record: 5-1-4
Top Scorers:
- Nathan MacKinnon – 7 G, 7 A, 14 P
- Martin Necas – 6 G, 6 A, 12 P
- Artturi Lehkonen – 4 G, 7 A, 11 P
- Cale Makar – 3 G, 8 A, 11 P
- Valeri Nichushkin – 5 G, 2 A, 7 P
Goalie Stats:
- Scott Wedgewood – 5-1-2, 2.42 GAA, .904 SV%
- Trent Miner – 0-0-2, 2.12 GAA, .909 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
New Jersey Devils
Ondrej Palat — Jack Hughes — Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier — Nico Hischier — Arseni Gritsyuk
Paul Cotter — Dawson Mercer — Connor Brown
Stefan Noesen — Luke Glendening — Brian Halonen
Luke Hughes — Simon Nemec
Jonas Siegenthaler — Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon — Dennis Cholowski
Jake Allen
Jacob Markstrom
Scratched: Seamus Casey
Injured: Cody Glass, Brett Pesce, Juho Lammikko, Evgenii Dadonov, Marc McLaughlin, Zack MacEwen, Johnathan Kovacevic
Colorado Avalanche
Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog — Brock Nelson — Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton — Jack Drury — Victor Olofsson
Parker Kelly — Zakhar Bardakov — Gavin Brindley
Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Josh Manson — Brent Burns
Jack Ahcan — Sam Malinski
Scott Wedgewood
Trent Miner
Scratched: Ilya Solovyov, MacKenzie Blackwood
Injured: Joel Kiviranta, Nikita Prishchepov, Samuel Girard, Ronald Attard, Jacob MacDonald, Logan O’Connor
Next Up for the Devils
After Colorado, the Devils will continue making their way west. They will be closing out another season series on this road trip, taking on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, Oct. 30.
