Following an ugly game against the Flyers, the Devils take on the Ottawa Senators in the second game of a back-to-back at The Rock. Check out the matchup in this preview.
The Essentials
Matchup: Ottawa Senators at New Jersey Devils
Date: January 19th, 2025
Time: 1:00 PM ET
Broadcast: NHL Network, MSG, RDS, TSN5
Listen: Devils Hockey Network
The Last Devils Game: On Saturday, the Devils lost the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 (in regulation for a change). It was an extremely sloppy game for the Devils. Their only offensive production came on a Dougie Hamilton wrist shot from the point early in the first period. Giveaways, miscommunication, and poor decisions were the takeaways of the game, leading to two goals for the Flyers, including one against the Devils’ penalty kill. New Jersey had 13 shots in the game and played as poorly as that sounds. Check out Chris’ recap if you’d like to read about it.
The Last Senators Game: Ottawa defeated the Boston Bruins 6-5 in a shootout on Saturday afternoon. In a wild rally, the Sens pulled their goalie in the third period and scored twice with the extra attacker to even the game. Josh Norris scored twice, the second of which was the game-tying goal with just seconds remaining. Ultimately, Tim Stutzle scored the lone goal in the shootout to win. Check NHL.com’s recap of that game.
Recent Momentum: Ottawa (23-18-4) has won four of its last five games, while New Jersey (26-16-6) has two wins in its last ten.
The Last Time: New Jersey beat the Sens on October 17th, 3-1. Check out Jackson’s recap of that game. Jacob Markstrom had an excellent outing in that matchup. The only goal against the Devils’ netminder came in the 59th minute off of a shot redirected by Claude Giroux. Meanwhile, Erik Haula, Nathan Bastian, and Paul Cotter scored for the Red and Black. Let’s hope for depth scoring like that today!
Lineups
Ottawa Senators
Per Graeme Nichols, here is how the Sens lined up against Boston on Saturday.
Tkachuk-Norris-Bath
Giroux-Stu-Gaudette
Cousins-Pinto-Greig
Highmore-Ostapchuk-AmadioSandy-Zub
Chabot-Jensen
Kleven-Matinpalo— Graeme Nichols (@GraemeNichols) January 18, 2025
Goaltending
Leevi Merilainen
Anton Forsberg
Leevi Merilainen started on Saturday, so Anton Forsberg is projected to start on Sunday. Linus Ullmark has resumed practicing but is not yet expected to be ready to go.
New Jersey Devils
Per Amanda Stein and the NJDevils on X, the Devils started the following lines and pairings against the Flyers. Pending any substitutions due to illness, the lineup on Sunday is expected to be similar.
Cap and the boys are ready to roll. @amandacstein’s got the lines. pic.twitter.com/ou0rQl7CKL
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) January 18, 2025
Jacob Markstrom is projected to start the second game of this back-to-back.
What to Watch For
Sens Sans Offense
At five-on-five, the Senators are one of the worst teams in the league in terms of scoring and generating high-danger scoring chances. Per Natural Stat Trick (before the conclusion of all games on Saturday), Ottawa is ranked 29th in the league in goals scored at five-on-five (75 goals) and in high-danger scoring chances (HDCF) at five-on-five. Tim Stutzle leads the team with 45 points, and Brady Tkachuk leads with 18 goals this season. Like the Devils (but worse), depth scoring is an issue with the Senators. Ottawa only has five players in the double-digits in goals. For perspective, the Devils have eight. New Jersey cannot help Ottawa create high-danger scoring opportunities by turning the puck over in bad locations like they did against Philadelphia.
No Ullmark, No Problem…When Merilainen Starts
Linus Ullmark has been out of the lineup since December 22nd with a back injury. Leevi Merilainen has stepped up to the plate and performed well in his absence. Through nine games, Merilainen has a save percentage of .917 and a goals-against average of just over two. In addition, the 22-year-old has saved over three goals above average. His statistics took a significant dive after the Bruins scored five goals against him on Saturday. Ullmark has begun practicing again but will not be in as much of a rush to return with Merilainen playing this well.
Anton Forsberg has been another story. Through 14 games, Forsberg has posted a .883 save percentage, allowing over three goals per game. The 32-year-old netminder has saved -6.89 goals above average. Hopefully, the Devils can find some success against Forsberg and jump-start this offense.
Illness and Mental Mistakes
Stefan Noesen sat out a couple of games with an illness that is spreading around New Jersey’s locker room. On Saturday, the MSG broadcast reported that head coach Sheldon Keefe was waiting until warm-ups to see how players were feeling and who would be available. Hopefully, the trainers and medical staff can limit the spread to keep as many players as possible healthy, especially the top six forwards.
Even taking illness into account, there have been way too many mental mistakes in the recent games. Luke Hughes made a poorly timed change in overtime against Toronto and was almost caught again in the first period against the Flyers. On Saturday, there were too many turnovers at New Jersey’s offensive end’s blue line, leading to scoring chances and breakaways for Philly. There were turnovers and miscommunication on breakouts, leading to goals. Playing while sick is difficult, but there were too many mental mistakes to blame solely on not feeling well. Let’s hope for a crisper game on Sunday.
Final Notes
As of Saturday night, the Senators have the ninth-ranked power play in the league, so the Devils need to stay out of the box. Ottawa is also ranked within the top ten in goals allowed per game (2.78), so New Jersey must work hard for their scoring opportunities.
Your Thoughts
Will New Jersey get the offense going against the Senators? Will the self-inflicted mistakes stop? Let’s hope the boys can turn it around in this one. Thank you for reading, and GO DEVILS!!!