Devils Gameday Preview: Nemec Back in the Lineup to Take on the Penguins

On Thursday, the New Jersey Devils will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins after a brutal loss to the New York Islanders on Jan.6, a 9-0 blowout. After two difficult games, the Devils will try to get back on track at the halfway point of their four-game road trip. 

This game marks the first of two home games for the Penguins after visiting the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday, a 5-4 overtime win to extend their winning streak to five games.

The season series between the Devils and the Penguins kicked off exactly two months ago, on Nov. 8. The Devils won 2-1 in the shootout. 

Devils Storylines

Simon Nemec participated in practice on Wednesday, and the Devils announced he will be back in the lineup tonight. Nemec was placed on injured reserve (IR) on Dec. 15. His last game was on Dec. 11 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, when he recorded two assists. Before the injury, he was off to a strong start, scoring 18 points through 31 games this season via seven goals and 11 assists. 

Nemec was playing on the third defensive pairing with Colton White when he was injured, and the duo had performed well. He has a plus-4 rating this season. His return will be a huge boost to the Devils’ lineup.

The player to watch in this game is Devils captain Nico Hischier. During practice, he was centering the first line alongside Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. He has been the driving force to get his team’s confidence back after their two latest losses.

Team Stats

Top Scorers:

1. Jesper Bratt – 9 goals (G), 24 assists (A), 33 points (P)
2. Nico Hischier – 12 G, 20 A, 32 P
3. Dawson Mercer – 11 G, 15 A, 26 P
4. Timo Meier – 12 G, 13 A, 25 P
5. Jack Hughes – 11 G, 13 A, 24 P

Goalie Stats:

1. Jake Allen – 11-9-1, 2.55 goals-against average (GAA), .913 save percentage (SV%)
2. Jacob Markstrom – 10-10-1, 3.48 GAA, .878 SV%
3. Nico Daws – 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .968 SV%

Pittsburgh Penguins
Season Record: 20-12-9

Top Scorers:

1. Sidney Crosby – 21 G, 23 A, 47 P
2. Bryan Rust – 16 G, 20 A, 36 P
3. Erik Karlsson – 3 G, 28 A, 31 P
4. Anthony Mantha – 14 G, 15 A, 29 P
5. Evgeni Malkin – 8 G, 21 A, 29 P

Goalie Stats:

1. Stuart Skinner – 13-11-4, 2.83 GAA, .888 SV%
2. Arturs Silovs – 8-5-6, 3.24 GAA, .886 SV%
3. Sergei Murashov – 1-1-2, 2.56 GAA, .897 SV%

Projected Lineups

(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.

New Jersey Devils

Jack Hughes — Nico Hischier — Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier — Dawson Mercer — Arseni Gritsyuk
Paul Cotter — Cody Glass — Connor Brown
Ondrej Palat — Luke Glendening — Stefan Noesen

Luke Hughes — Brett Pesce
Jonas Siegenthaler — Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon — Simon Nemec

Jake Allen
Jacob Markstrom

Scratched: Juho Lammikko, Dennis Cholowski, Colton White

Injured: Evgenii Dadonov, Zack MacEwen, Marc McLaughlin, Johnathan Kovacevic

Pittsburgh Penguins

Rickard Rakell — Sidney Crosby — Bryan Rust
Evgeni Malkin — Ben Kindel — Egor Chinakhov
Anthony Mantha — Tommy Novak — Justin Brazeau
Connor Dewar — Blake Lizotte — Noel Acciari

Parker Wotherspoon — Erik Karlsson
Brett Kulak — Kris Letang
Ryan Shea — Jack St. Ivany

Stuart Skinner
Artur Silovs

Scratched: Kevin Hayes, Connor Clifton

Injured: Rutger McGroarty, Filip Hallander, Tanner Howe, Caleb Jones

Next Up for the Devils

After tonight’s contest, the Devils head up to Canada, where they will take on the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, Jan. 11. They will close out the road trip against the Minnesota Wild on Monday.