Game #11 Preview: New York Islanders at New Jersey Devils

Following a brutal loss versus the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night, the Devils take on the New York Islanders at The Rock. Please provide an end to this frustration tonight!

The Essentials:

Matchup: New York Islanders at New Jersey Devils

Date: October 25, 2024

Time: 7:00 PM ET

Broadcast: MSGSN

Listen: Devils Hockey Network

The Last Devils Game: The New Jersey Devils lost to the Red Wings last night 5-3. They have now lost three straight games. Woof. Read Jackson’s recap for the full details.

The Last Islanders Game: The Islanders were shut out by the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 on October 22, 2024. See the NHL.com recap for the details and highlights. The Islanders have a record of 2-2-2 to start the 2024-2025 season.

The Lineups:

New Jersey Devils

On Thursday night, head coach Sheldon Keefe maintained the same forward lines from the Tampa Bay Lightning game. The top two defensive pairings remained the same and the pairing of Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce was added. Here are the current lines and pairings:

Forwards

Dawson Mercer – Nico Hischier – Timo Meier

Jesper Bratt – Jack Hughes – Ondrej Palat

Paul Cotter – Erik Haula – Stefan Noesen

Tomas Tatar – Curtis Lazar – Nathan Bastian

Defense

Brenden Dillon – Dougie Hamilton

Jonas Siegenthaler – Johnathan Kovacevic

Since Jacob Markstrom started last night, Jake Allen is likely starting between the pipes on Friday.

We’ll discuss the defensive pairings later, but let’s take a look at the forwards. Ondrej Palat has played well with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, especially against the Red Wings. Palat can keep up with Bratt and Hughes in terms of skating and his ability to win puck battles to maintain offensive zone time is what makes him beneficial to the line. It seems like a good fit.

The fourth line of Tomas Tatar, Curtis Lazar, and Nathan Bastian has played well in the last two games, but I don’t like Tatar on that line. Tatar can create more offense. We have seen that in the past when he played alongside Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer during the 2022-2023 season. Tatar’s style of play does not fit with the expectations of a physical fourth line, but unfortunately, he seems to be the odd man out right now.

New York Islanders

As per Islanders beat reporter Stefen Rosner, the Islanders practiced with the following forward lines and defensive pairings on October 24, 2024.

The biggest offseason addition for the New York Islanders was adding left winger Anthony Duclair, but he has been sidelined with a leg injury for four to six weeks. Russian rookie Maxim Tsyplakov is projected to start at left wing on the second line alongside Brock Nelson and former Devil Kyle Palmieri. The rest of the projected lineup are names Devils fans are already familiar with, such as Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat, Ryan Pulock, and Adam Pelech. Palmieri is tied for the team lead in goals with two through six games. Duclair, Nelson, Horvat, and Anders Lee also have recorded two goals. Defenseman Noah Dobson leads the team in points with four assists.

What to Watch For:

Brett Pesce and Luke Hughes

Brett Pesce and Luke Hughes made their season debuts on Thursday night versus the Detroit Red Wings. After giving up WAY too many goals to the Capitals and Lightning there was no pressure, right? I was neither impressed nor disappointed with the play of the Hughes-Pesce pairing on Thursday night. There were some good plays, by Pesce in particular, and some obvious rust. I am curious whether Sheldon Keefe will keep Hughes and Pesce together. The defensive pairing of Dougie Hamilton and Brenden Dillon struggled again against the Wings and this is becoming a problem. I wouldn’t be surprised if Keefe tweaks the defensive pairings for tonight’s matchup.

We Know What to Expect

Devils fans know what to expect in games versus the Islanders. If the Islanders score first or get an early lead, they will essentially stop playing offense and sell out to clog the front of their net to prevent their opponent from scoring. The Isles haven’t been an offensive powerhouse in recent years, and they are starting off the 2024-2025 campaign the same way. In their last five games, they have been shut out three times. At the same time, the Islanders aren’t the easiest to score against. In two of those three shutouts, the Islanders only allowed one goal in the game, one of which was in overtime. Beating Ilya Sorokin, a goaltender with a .947 save percentage this season, will not be easy, but this is a game where scoring the first goal will be especially important.

Allen vs. Sorokin

Allen has recorded two wins and one loss with a .880 save percentage thus far this season. The former Canadien has saved –0.61 Goals Saved Above Average and is coming off of a loss where he surrendered eight goals to the Lightning. Sorokin, on the other hand, has only allowed four goals in three games played this season with a Goals Saved Above Average of 2.95. The Devils need a bounce-back game from Allen and to plant traffic in front of Sorokin to be successful tonight.

Appreciation for Mr. Devil

Amid the frustration of watching the Devils-Red Wings game, Ken Daneyko provided some fantastic perspective. Midway through the third period, Johnathan Kovacevic and Ben Chiarot got involved in some extracurriculars. Kovacevic took a couple of jabs from Chiarot during the scrum and both were eventually given five minutes for fighting. During the broadcast, Mr. Devil voiced what Devils fans were thinking, stating that Kovacevic didn’t get his money’s worth for the penalty and wished Kovacevic had dropped the gloves to earn the five minutes. I couldn’t agree more!

Your Thoughts

Give me something positive to look forward to in this game! What are your thoughts on the defensive pairings and forward lines? Does Sheldon Keefe need to change the forward lines or defensive pairings? If so, what changes? What will you be watching for tonight? Thank you for reading and GO DEVILS!