NEW JERSEY DEVILS (30-19-6) vs. GOLDEN KNIGHTS (31-17-6)
New Jersey hosts the Vegas Golden Knights for their first meeting this season. The Devils are celebrating their Black History Night, the organization’s fourth Hockey is for Everyone night, during Thursday’s game. Tickets are available here.
You can watch on MSGSN or listen on the Devils Hockey Network.
Read below for your game preview and pre-game story below. Tonight’s game is presented by Cutting Edge Ice Academy.
• TV: MSGSN
• RADIO: Devils Hockey Network
NEWARK, N.J. – Check back following Devils morning skate at 10:30 a.m. ET.
THE SCOOP
The Devils enter their final home game before the Four Nations break fresh off a seven-round shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday night. Timo Meier’s shooutout goal sealed the victory and Nico Daws stopped five of seven shots in the shootout. Jack Hughes scored twice in regulation, Jesper Bratt picked up a pair of assists, and Ondrej Palat also had an assist in the win. Daws, in his first start this season, stopped 25 of the 27 shots he faced. The Devils have picked up points in four of their last six games, going 4-2-0 in that stretch.
Captain Nico Hischier was on a roll this season before suffering an undisclosed injury on Jan. 25. His 24 goals still lead the Devils while his 43 points are third. Jesper Bratt leads the Devils with 45 assists and his 61 points are second on the team. Jack Hughes leads the Devils with 63 points and his 23 goals and 40 assists are both second on the team. Jacob Markstrom, the Devils starting goaltender, is out with an MCL sprain. As a result, Jake Allen and Nico Daws have each played in recent games. Daws faced the Penguins on Tuesday so it’s likely the team will go back to Allen Thursday night. Allen has played 19 games this season and has a 8-10-1 record. He’s averaging 2.68 goals against and has a .905 save percentage. The Devils final game before the Four Nations break is Saturday in Montreal against the Canadiens.
The Golden Knights have lost four straight games, most recently suffering a 2-1 loss to the New York Islanders, Tuesday night. However, in their last five games, Vegas has points in three of those contests. In only his second game with the Golden Knights, Brandon Saad scored Vegas’ lone goal, which tied the game 1-1 in the first eight minutes of the third period. However, Brock Nelson’s goal three minutes later would be the game winner for the home team. Ilya Samsonov stopped 12 of the 14 shots he faced in the loss.
Jack Eichel leads the Golden Knights in assists (48) and points (66), while his 18 goals are third on the team. Pavel Dorofeyev leads Vegas with 22 goals and he has 35 total points which is fifth on the team. Adin Hill and Ilya Samsonov make up Vegas’ goaltender tandem with Hill playing the majority of the 54 games. Through 33 games played, Hill has a 19-10-4 record where he’s averaging 2.69 goals against per game and has a .900 save percentage. Samsonov has played 20 games and has a 12-6-2 record. He has a 2.74 goals against average and a .899 save percentage. The Golden Knights’ game against the Devils is the third game of a four-game East Coast road trip that wraps up in Boston, against the Bruins, on Saturday.
WHO’S HOT
Devils: Alternate Captain Jack Hughes is entering Thursday’s game riding a six-game points streak and a three-game goal streak with eight points in that span (5G, 3A). His 23 goals on the season are second on the team and he is only one goal away from tying Captain Nico Hischier’s team-leading 24 goals. Hughes has points in 33 of the 55 games he’s played this season.
Golden Knights: Jack Eichel has 12 points in his last 10 games, seven of which are goals. The forward leads the Golden Knights in assists (48) and points (66) through 53 games, which has him averaging over a point per game this season.
INJURIES
Devils: Hischier (undisclosed), Markstrom (MCL sprain, out 4-6 weeks), Hatakka (shoulder, IR)
Golden Knights: Schwindt (lower-body, IR), Karlsson (lower-body, IR)
REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS
GAME NOTES
