The New Jersey Devils return from a two-game road trip to face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, closing out the season series. The Devils finally ended a five-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, Dec. 9. They will be looking for their first win at home since Nov. 26.
Related: Devils’ Recent Performance Underlies Need for a Trade
This game marks game three of four on the road for the Lightning. They trounced the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 on Tuesday. The season series with the Devils is tied 1-1.
Devils Storylines
Earlier today, the Devils announced that Timo Meier will be taking a leave of absence to attend to a family matter. Our thoughts are with him during this time.
The Devils also announced that Evgenii Dadonov was placed on injured reserve (IR) with a wrist injury, suffered on Nov. 24 against the Detroit Red Wings. He has only played five games this season after suffering an injury in the Devils’ season opener on Oct. 9. The Devils are hoping to have him back soon.
The Devils have since recalled forward Xavier Parent from the Utica Comets, their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, to fill the empty roster spot. He was a full participant in practice this morning and will make his NHL debut tonight against the Lightning. This season, Parent has played 20 games with 12 points to lead the Comets.
The player to watch in this game is, of course, Parent. He has worked hard to earn a call-up and will, hopefully, take it all in and enjoy the moment.
Team Stats
New Jersey Devils
Season Record: 17-12-1
Top Scorers:
- Nico Hischier – 10 goals (G), 16 assists (A), 26 points (P)
- Jesper Bratt – 5 G, 21 A, 26 P
- Timo Meier – 11 G, 12 A, 23 P
- Dawson Mercer – 10 G, 11 A, 21 P
- Jack Hughes – 10 G, 10 A, 20 P
Goalie Stats:
- Jake Allen – 8-6-0, 2.52 goals-against average (GAA), .908 save percentage (SV%)
- Jacob Markstrom – 8-6-1, 3.48 GAA, .880 SV%
- Nico Daws – 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .968 SV%
Tampa Bay Lightning
Season Record: 17-11-2
- Nikita Kucherov – 13 G, 23 A, 36 P
- Brandon Hagel – 17 G, 12 A, 29 P
- Jake Guentzel – 14 G, 15 A, 29 P
- Darren Raddysh – 5 G, 15 A, 20 P
- Anthony Cirelli – 9 G, 9 A, 18 P
Goalie Stats:
- Andrei Vasilevskiy – 11-6-2, 2.31 GAA, .917 SV%
- Jonas Johansson – 6-5-0, 2.53 GAA, .907 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
New Jersey Devils
Jesper Bratt — Nico Hischier — Stefan Noesen
Ondrej Palat — Dawson Mercer — Paul Cotter
Arseni Gritsyuk — Cody Glass — Connor Brown
Xavier Parent — Luke Glendening — Angus Crookshank
Jonas Siegenthaler — Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon — Luke Hughes
Colton White — Simon Nemec
Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen
Scratched: Juho Lammikko, Dennis Cholowski, Timo Meier
Injured: Jack Hughes, Johnathan Kovacevic, Evgenii Dadonov, Brett Pesce, Zack MacEwen, Marc McLaughlin
Tampa Bay Lightning
Brandon Hagel — Anthony Cirelli — Nikita Kucherov
Jake Guentzel — Brayden Point — Oliver Bjorkstrand
Zemgus Girgensons — Yanni Gourde — Pontus Holmberg
Curtis Douglas — Nick Paul — Scott Sabourin
J.J. Moser — Darren Raddysh
Charle-Edouard D’Astous — Emil Lilleberg
Declan Carlile — Max Crozier
Scratched: Gage Gonclaves, Jack Finley
Injured: Dominic James, Victor Hedman, Erik Cernak, Ryan McDonagh, Andrei Vasilevskiy
Next Up for the Devils
This is the first of three home games for the Devils, who will head into the weekend with back-to-back matinee contests against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday and the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.
