The New Jersey Devils and the Vegas Golden Knights face off tonight at T-Mobile Arena in a compelling matchup. The Devils, with a record of 18-14-1, are looking for a crucial road win against the Golden Knights, who stand at 16-6-9.
The Devils are receiving a significant boost with the return of defenseman Brett Pesce, who is expected to be back in the lineup after missing time. His return aims to stabilize the Devils' defense, which has struggled in his absence, with the team posting a 10-13-1 record.
However, the Devils are still grappling with a series of injuries to key players. Jack Hughes (finger), Timo Meier (personal leave), Arseny Gritsyuk (upper-body), Johnathan Kovacevic (knee), and Simon Nemec (lower-body) remain sidelined. These absences necessitate adjustments to the team's forward lines and defensive pairings.
Here’s the projected lineup for the New Jersey Devils:
- Forwards: Jesper Bratt – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer / Ondrej Palat – Cody Glass – Connor Brown / Paul Cotter – Juho Lammikko – Stefan Noesen / Angus Crookshank – Luke Glendening – Xavier Parent
- Defensemen: Jonas Siegenthaler – Dougie Hamilton / Luke Hughes – Brett Pesce / Brenden Dillon – Colton White
- Goaltenders: Jake Allen, Jacob Markstrom
The Vegas Golden Knights, on the other hand, are looking to capitalize on their home advantage. In their last game against the Devils on December 5th, the Golden Knights shut them out 3-0, with former Devils goalie Akira Schmid recording a 24-save shutout.
Here’s the projected lineup for the Vegas Golden Knights:
- Forwards: Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Mark Stone / Mitch Marner – Brett Howden – Braden Bowman / Brandon Saad – Tomas Hertl – Pavel Dorofeyev / Cole Reinhardt – Colton Sissons – Keegan Kolesar
- Defensemen: Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore / Noah Hanifin – Zach Whitecloud / Ben Hutton – Kaedan Korczak
- Goaltenders: Akira Schmid, Carter Hart
One player to watch for the Golden Knights is Mitch Marner, who has been producing assists at a high rate since joining the team. He has 26 assists in 31 games and has been particularly effective playing alongside Mark Stone and Brett Howden. Pavel Dorofeyev is another player to watch, as he has been generating a lot of shots while playing with Tomas Hertl and Brandon Saad.
For the Devils, Dawson Mercer is expected to play a key role, benefiting from increased opportunities on the top line with Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt, as well as on the power play.
The Golden Knights are favored to win tonight's game, with moneyline odds at -161. The Devils are the underdogs at +134. The over/under for total goals is set at 5.5.
