Devils Gameday Preview: Homestand Finale Against the Senators

On Monday, Oct. 12, the New Jersey Devils are on the hunt for their third home win of the season, facing the Ottawa Senators. This game marks the finale of their three-game homestand, as well as the first half of a back-to-back, which will conclude tomorrow night against the Detroit Red Wings.

The Devils are looking to get back on track with a win streak, following a 4-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday afternoon. So far this season, the club has posted a 2-2-0 record, but with four games on this week, they’ll have the chance to earn some much-needed points.

Devils Storylines

This marks an important opportunity for the Devils to build momentum at the start of the season. After such a dominant performance against the Canucks, they must maintain a strong offensive presence. Even though it doesn’t always show up in the win column, the stats have been on the Devils’ side so far. In every game this season, they’ve outshot their opponents while also generating more scoring chances and shot attempts.

Johnathan Kovacevic remains a player to watch after being activated off injured reserve (IR) on Saturday. He has yet to make his season debut and was absent from both training camp and preseason. In his stead, Declan Chisholm found a temporary place on the Devils’ third defensive pairing. It remains unclear whether Kovacevic will take on a full-time role right away, but he’s almost guaranteed to play at least one game this week. 

The Devils’ power play remains an important factor to keep an eye on. After going one for 14 throughout the first three games of 2026-27, Luke Evangelista finally broke the power-play drought against the Mammoth. Then in the following game, the Devils scored three power-play goals courtesy of Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt. Now, the team has a 22.2% conversion rate on the man advantage, which is tied for 12th in the league.

A look at morning skate for #NJDevils Evangelista isn’t out there today, so Noesen is taking his place for the moment. Kovacevic is skating again with the main group. We’ll wait and see which goalie is off first, but based on practice routine, I’d say Daws start vs. OTT. https://t.co/O8I6J4y1KM

— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) October 12, 2026

Earlier today, Stefan Noesen was recalled from the American Hockey League (AHL), after the Devils placed Connor Brown on IR. Evangelista was absent from morning skate, and Noesen filled in for him on the top line alongside Hischier and Timo Meier. After practice, head coach Sheldon Keefe shared that Evangelista has been feeling under the weather recently, but is optimistic that he will be available to play tonight.

Team Stats

New Jersey Devils

Season Record: 2-2-0

Top Scorers:

• Jesper Bratt — 1 goal (G), 3 assists (A), 4 points (P)
• Jack Hughes — 1 G, 3 A, 4 P
• Nico Hischier — 2 G, 1 A, 3 P
• Luke Evangelista — 2 G, 1 A, 3 P
• Jesper Boqvist — 2 G, 0 A, 2 P

Goalie Stats:

• Nico Daws — 0-1-0, 6.01 goals against average (GAA), .813 save percentage (SV%)
• Jake Allen — 2-1-0, 2.65 GAA, .896 SV%

Ottawa Senators

Season Record: 4-1-0

Top Scorers:

• Tim Stützle — 4 G, 4 A, 8 P
• Drake Batherson — 3 G, 1 A, 4 P
• Shane Pinto — 0 G, 4 A, 4 P
• Michael Amadio — 2 G, 1 A, 3 P
• Thomas Chabot — 1 G, 2 A, 3 P

Goalie Stats:

• Linus Ullmark — 4-0-0 ,1.34 GAA, .942 SV%
• Samuel Ersson — 0-1-0, 3.85 GAA, .886 SV%

Projected Lineup

(Subject to change before puck drop)

New Jersey Devils

Timo Meier — Nico Hischier — Luke Evangelista
Jesper Bratt — Jack Hughes — Anthony Mantha
Arseny Gritsyuk — Evan Rodrigues — Dawson Mercer
Amadeus Lombardi — Cody Glass — Jesper Boqvist

Luke Hughes — Brett Pesce
Jonas Siegnethaler — Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon — Declan Chisholm

Nico Daws
Jake Allen

Scratched: Stefan Noesen, Remi Poirier, Johnathan Kovacevic

Injured: Connor Brown, Nick Bjugstad

Ottawa Senators

Warren Foegele — Tim Stützle — Drake Batherson
Andre Burakovsky — Dylan Cozens — Ridly Greig
Michael Amadio — Shane Pinto — Claude Giroux
Fabian Zetterlund — Stephen Halliday — Nick Cousins

Thomas Chabot — Jordan Spence
Tyler Kleven — Carter Yakemchuk
Nikolas Matinpalo — Hoyt Stanley

Linus Ullmark
Samuel Ersson

Scratched: Hayden Hodgson, Jorian Donovan

Injured: Cameron Crotty, Artem Zub, William Eklund, Kurtis MacDermid, Jake Sanderson

Next Up for the Devils

The Devils will hit the road for the second half of a back-to-back, facing the Red Wings on Tuesday, Oct. 13, with puck drop set for 6 PM ET. The game will stream on ESPN, kicking off the NHL’s Frozen Frenzy.