2024 Preseason Game Preview #1: New Jersey Devils vs. New York Islanders

It’s time for a new season. Are you ready?

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils vs. the New York Islanders

The Time: 7:00 PM ET

The Broadcast: TV: MSGSN, MSGSN2; Digital, Out of Market: ESPN+

Happy New Season

It’s the moment we have all been waiting for: the return of New Jersey Devils hockey. With the new season comes the hope that the team can put last year behind them and show the world that they are better than that. For now, the number one goal is keeping the top performers of the squad healthy. Beyond that, there are a few positional battles expected to take place. These Devils, under Sheldon Keefe, will have to play to decide who gets which of the following spots:

• Starting left-pair defenseman & injury replacement for Luke Hughes. This one is likely being fought between Santeri Hatakka, Daniil Misyul, and Jakub Zboril. Colton White and Topias Vilen are outside options.
• Possible early-season fill-in for Brett Pesce. Jonathan Kovacevic and Nick DeSimone are the obvious answers here, but we will see Seamus Casey this preseason.
• The bottom six jam. With only six starting roles to dole out between bottom six hopefuls, there are a lot of players who will be battling for ice time. We can expect guys like Lazar, Haula, Palat, Cotter, and Noesen to assuredly be on the team, but who will be that fourth line right wing? Will it be Nate Bastian once more? Will Kevin Labanc push his way onto the team? Will Nolan Foote finally stick in the NHL? Will Chase Stillman or Brian Halonen look for a bump in competition from last year?
• Top six wings. With Nico Hischier mostly practicing with Tomas Tatar and Kevin Labanc, it looks like the move is for him to play with Tatar and Mercer down the line. However, will Tatar look like his old self, or will he have to fall to the bottom six group? If he does, who rises to the top?

With that, let’s take a look at how the Devils have lined up in practice so far,

How the Devils Groups Practiced So Far

As always, Amanda Stein has tracked who has lined up for each practice line in training camp so far. But be warned: I do not believe the team will play the first preseason game in these exact groups. James Nichols reported that Keefe already marked Timo Meier, Jack Hughes, Simon Nemec, and Dawson Mercer as players who will not be in the lineup for the first preseason game, as he does not want to put any of them into game action yet, with Meier and Hughes recovering from offseason surgery alongside Nemec’s nasty spill in the Olympic qualifiers and Mercer’s comparative lack of practice due to is contract negotiation. We can also count Erik Haula out of the lineup, as the team informed James Nichols that he is out with an illness.

Against a big team like the New York Islanders, I would look for the Cotter-Lazar-Bastian line to get their first look today. These guys have the inside track to be the fourth line this season, and they can test their mettle against New York’s physical game. MacDermid-Dowling-Stillman could also go for the same reasons, as each of those guys want to earn a bottom six forward spot. Defensively, the battle between Hatakka, Zboril, and Misyul may start heating up tonight.

I do think that, assuming Tomas Tatar’s absence from practice yesterday was just a veteran’s day off, the Tatar-Hischier-Labanc line will get to go tonight — especially since Keefe already let it be known that Jack and Timo will have the day off. Keefe certainly could opt to just have his Group B lines play tonight, but we could see a mash-up of the groups. I also would not be too surprised to see Jesper Bratt jump onto Nico Hischier’s line, as Keefe did not note him as a guy taking the night off.

It won’t be this full group playing together tonight, but it seems like Sheldon Keefe and Jeremy Colliton are not playing around much with power play personnel — the best will go on PP1. In Meier, Hughes, and Bratt’s absence tonight, I would look for players with insecure situations — such as Labanc, Foote, or Bastian — to get a look on a power play. Stefan Noesen, with his solid production over the past two years, could also fill in on a top unit.

How the Islanders Have Practiced

The New York Islanders will also be playing their first preseason game of the season tonight, and Andrew Gross had the lines from their second day of camp.

I do think that the Duclair-Horvat-Barzal line has the potential to do a lot of damage. Duclair and Barzal will automatically be one of the fastest wing combinations in the league, and they will be split by one of the best sharpshooting centers in the league in Bo Horvat. Matt Martin is looking to re-earn his spot on the team on a PTO, while Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock will look to improve on their play from last year, as Pelech’s defensive game seemed to take a step back last season. Both defenders will be 30 years old this season.

The second line would be a huge promotion for Simon Holmstrom, who is skating with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri. Holmstrom had 25 points in 75 games last season, up from 9 points in 50 games in 2022-23. Coming from fourth line minutes, Holmstrom is not a physical player — but he does have skill and a high-percentage shot. He will certainly be challenged by 26-year old Maxim Tsyplakov, who is coming off a 31-goal, 47-point season in the KHL for Spartak Moskva.

Kyle MacLean will be fighting for a spot to advance his career, as he chipped in four goals and five assists in 32 NHL appearances last year. The 25-year old Basking Ridge, New Jersey native — and son of Devils legend John MacLean — may have what it takes to be a fourth line center, as he defends well and is able to make up for some below-average offense with a good percentage on his scoring chances. He will be with Oliver Wahlstrom, whose play has fallen off a cliff at an early age. According to Micah McCurdy’s HockeyViz, MacLean played to a borderline third/fourth line level last year, while Wahlstrom barely clinged onto fourth-line caliber in his play.

Now, who will play for the Islanders tonight? Your guess is as good as mine, but this is the crop of players they are working with. As always, I think their top-end talent is good enough to compete. Their depth is quite lacking, at a glance, though.

My Last Thoughts

Aside from the positional battles around camp, I am really interested to see how the goaltenders play. This may be the first time we see Jacob Markström play for the Devils. But will Jake Allen play, and will he play well? Will Nico Daws look good in the preseason? Will Isaac Poulter continue to push his name into the conversation? Will Michael Hutchinson play and earn a contract off his PTO? Can Tyler Brennan put up a good performance behind a semi-NHL defense? Also, it might not be at the top of the list for the Devils, but I would really like to see Jeremy Brodeur get into a game this preseason. Goaltender might not be a position of interest for most right now, but we’ve seen how quickly the train can come off the tracks there.

Also, this is our first look at the truly post-Ruff Devils. Our first chance to see how differently — or similarly — Sheldon Keefe will play his hand comes tonight. Hopefully, Keefe has done his homework on his players and this preseason goes smoothly.

Your Thoughts

What do you think of the game tonight? Who do you want to see most in the lineup? What kind of style do you expect from Sheldon Keefe’s Devils? What do you think about the Islanders this year? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.