After a successful home stand, the New Jersey Devils look to defeat the Vancouver Canucks for the 13th consecutive time.
Record: 22-32-5 (49 points, 7th in Metro)
The Opponent: Vancouver Canucks (29-24-7) – FHN Site: Fear The Orca
Puckdrop: 10:00 PM ET
Venue: Rogers Arena
Expected Goaltenders: Nico Daws (6-4-0) vs. Thatcher Demko (26-17-3)
Television Broadcasts: MSG+, MSG+2, SNP
Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver comes into tonight having dropped their last two games. In their most recent game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Canucks were only able to put one shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy and dropped the game 2-1. J.T. Miller scored the team’s only goal to extend his point streak to 12 games.
Thatcher Demko is expected to be in net for Vancouver. The 26-year-old is having a stellar season with a 2.66 GAA and .916 save percentage to go with his 26-17-3 record.
New Jersey Devils
On Saturday, the Devils wrapped up a home stand that saw them take three out of four against some really good competition. Their most recent game against the Anaheim Ducks required a shootout in which Tomas Tatar and Jesper Bratt both scored to take the game 2-1.
Goaltender Nico Daws was especially strong over the last four games. The 21-year-old allowed only eight goals and recorded .928 save percentage, as well as two big saves in Satuday’s shootout, during the home stand to help secure six out of eight points.
Daws is expected to start again tonight as New Jersey kicks off their Western Canada road trip. On the year, Daws has a 6-4-0 record with a .916 save percentage and 2.50 GAA.
Amanda Stein reports that captain Nico Hischier will be back in the lineup tonight for the Devils. Hischier makes his return after missing the last three games with a lower-body injury.
Player to Watch: Tomas Tatar
Tatar has been very streaky throughout the course of the season but the recent home stand provided his best stretch of games in a Devils uniform. The 31-year-old has two goals over his last two games and provided the only non-shootout goal for New Jersey in Saturday’s win.
The trio of Tatar, Jesper Boqvist, and Andreas Johnsson provided some decent offensive stretches in Saturday’s game. Expect them to be together again tonight as the Devils look to win their 13th straight game against the Vancouver.
