On Monday, Nov. 10, the New Jersey Devils will host the New York Islanders for their first matchup of the season. This game closes out a three-game homestand for the Devils. Both prior contests resulted in a victory, including a shootout victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins in their most recent game.
Related: 3 Takeaways From the Devils’ Thrilling 2-1 Shootout Win Over Penguins
The Islanders are coming off a shutout victory against the New York Rangers on Saturday, Nov. 8, which kicked off a seven-game road trip for the Islanders. They will take on the Devils before heading west to take on the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, Nov. 13.
Devils Storylines
The biggest headline ahead of tonight’s game is that Zack MacEwen has been activated off of Injured Reserve (IR) and will be back in the lineup. He only played one game this season before sustaining an upper-body injury against the Columbus Blue Jackets. That game also marked his debut with New Jersey, who acquired him from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Kurtis MacDermid ahead of the start of the season. Hopefully, MacEwen can make a strong impact in his return.
Once again, Connor Brown will not be playing. Although he was originally listed as having a day-to-day injury, he was not on the ice for morning skate as his injury is still bothering him. He was not placed in IR, so there is no confirmed date as to when he will return. Hopefully he is healing well and will be back with the Devils soon.
The player to watch in this game is Arseny Gritsyuk, who opened the scoring for the Devils on Saturday after Kris Letang’s giveaway. The young rookie has amassed 15 points to start the season. He has been a great addition to the Devils’ forwards group, and he is one player fans should keep an eye on tonight.
Team Stats
New Jersey Devils
Season Record: 11-4-0
Top Scorers:
- Jack Hughes – 10 goals (G), 8 assists (A), 18 points (P)
- Dawson Mercer – 8 G, 7 A, 15 P
- Jesper Bratt – 5 G, 9 A, 14 P
- Timo Meier – 4 G, 7 A, 11 P
- Nico Hischier – 3 G, 8 A, 11 P
Goalie Stats:
- Jake Allen – 6-2-0, 2.29 goals-against average (GAA), .914 save percentage (SV%)
- Jacob Markstrom – 4-2-0, 3.95 GAA, .968 SV%
- Nico Daws – 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .968 SV%
New York Islanders
Season Record: 7-6-2
Top Scorers:
- Bo Horvat – 11 G, 7 A, 18 P
- Mathew Barzal – 3 G, 9 A, 12 P
- Jean-Gabriel Pageau – 5 G, 6 A, 11 P
- Matthew Schaefer – 5 G, 6 A, 11 P
- Kyle Palmieri – 4 G, 7 A, 11 P
Goalie Stats:
- Ilya Sorokin – 4-4-2, 3.00 GAA, .893 SV%
- David Rittich – 3-2-0, 3.41 GAA, .886 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
New Jersey Devils
Stefan Noesen — Jack Hughes — Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier — Nico Hischier — Dawson Mercer
Ondrej Palat — Cody Glass — Arseni Gritsyuk
Paul Cotter — Luke Glendening — Zack MacEwen
Brenden Dillon — Luke Hughes
Jonas Siegenthaler — Simon Nemec
Dennis Cholowski — Colton White
Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen
Scratched: Juho Lammikko
Injured: Connor Brown, Dougie Hamilton, Marc McLaughlin, Evgenii Dadonov, Brett Pesce, Johnathan Kovacevic
New York Islanders
Emil Heineman — Bo Horvat — Kyle Palmieri
Jonathan Drouin — Mathew Barzal — Simon Holmstrom
Anders Lee — Jean-Gabriel Pageau — Anthony Duclair
Casey Cizikas — Calum Ritchie — Maxim Tsyplakov
Matthew Schaefer — Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech — Tony DeAngelo
Alexander Romanov — Scott Mayfield
Ilya Sorokin
David Rittich
Scratched: Adam Boqvist, Kyle MacLean
Injured: Maxim Shabanov, Pierre Engvall, Ethan Bear, Semyon Varlamov, Jesse Nurmi
Next Up for the Devils
After three games at home, the Devils will hit the road to take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday, Nov. 12.
