The New Jersey Devils host the Dallas Stars in their first matchup of the season on Wednesday night. The Devils just lost 5-3 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. After a two-game losing streak at home, they will be looking for a win in front of their home crowd tonight.
Related: Devils’ 4-3-1 Metro Record Underscores an Urgent Need to Respond
The Stars are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. They held the lead midway through the second period before the Rangers tied it up. Vladislav Gavrikov’s goal in the first two minutes of overtime sealed the deal for the Rangers. The Stars will be playing their second of back-to-back games when they visit Prudential Center tonight before they head back home to Texas.
Devils Storylines
Based on this morning’s practice, Jacob Markstrom will defend the crease tonight for the Devils. He allowed four of the Philadelphia Flyers’ five goals on Saturday, another 5-3 loss, while Jake Allen was in net on Monday against the Blue Jackets. There have been four games between Markstrom’s two starts; hopefully, he will be rested and ready to face the high-scoring Stars.
At least, it doesn’t seem like the blue line has taken any more hits. After his fight on Monday, Brenden Dillon was held out of the third period for precautionary reasons. He was a full participant in practice and took part in line rushes. He is expected to play on the third defensive pairing alongside Dennis Cholowski tonight.
The player to watch in this game is Timo Meier. He has recorded eight points in his last six games, via five goals and three assists. He continues to level up his play and has been a critical part of the top line alongside Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt.
Team Stats
New Jersey Devils
Season Record: 16-9-1
Top Scorers:
- Jesper Bratt – 5 goals (G), 21 assists (A), 26 points (P)
- Nico Hischier – 10 G, 15 A, 25 P
- Timo Meier – 10 G, 12 A, 22 P
- Dawson Mercer – 10 G, 11 A, 21 P
- Jack Hughes – 10 G, 10 A, 20 P
Goalie Stats:
- Jake Allen – 8-5-0, 2.48 goals-against average (GAA), .911 save percentage (SV%)
- Jacob Markstrom – 7-4-1, 3.60 GAA, .874 SV%
- Nico Daws – 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .968 SV%
Dallas Stars
Season Record: 17-5-5
Top Scorers:
- Jason Robertson – 18 G, 19 A, 35 P
- Mikko Rantanen – 11 G, 23 A, 34 P
- Wyatt Johnston – 16 G, 15 A, 31 P
- Roope Hintz – 8 G, 14 A, 22 P
- Miro Heiskanen – 3 G, 19 A, 22 P
Goalie Stats:
- Jake Oettinger – 11-4-2, 2.76 GAA, .900 SV%
- Casey DeSmith – 6-1-3, 2.16 GAA, .921 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 — Dennis Cholowski
Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen
Scratched: Colton White
Injured: Evgenii Dadonov, Brenden Dillon, Jack Hughes, Johnathan Kovacevic, Zack MacEwen, Brett Pesce, Marc McLaughlin
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn — Wyatt Johnston — Mikko Rantanen
Jason Roberston — Roope Hintz — Mavrik Bourque
Oskar Back — Justin Hryckowian — Colin Blackwell
Sam Steel — Radek Faksa — Nathan Bastian
Esa Lindell — Miro Heiskanen
Vladislav Kolyachonok — Ilya Lyubushkin
Kyle Capobianco — Alexander Petrovic
Jake Oettinger
Casey DeSmith
Scratched:
Injured: Lian Bichsel, Tyler Seguin, Thomas Harley, Kyle McDonald, Matt Duchene, Chase Wheatcroft, Adam Erne, Nils Lundkvist, Luke Krys
Next Up for the Devils
This is the third of a four-game home stand for the Devils. They host the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday, Dec. 5, before heading back on the road.
