After a 5-0 victory over the Nashville Predators, the Devils will try to keep things rolling in the Mile High City against the Avalanche. Check out the matchup in this game preview.
The Essentials
Matchup: New Jersey Devils at Colorado Avalanche
Date: February 26th, 2025
Time: 9:30 PM ET
Broadcast: MSGSN, TVAS, ALT, KTVD
Listen: Devils Hockey Network
The Last Devils Game: The Devils shut out the Nashville Predators 5-0 on Sunday. Nico Daws recorded his first NHL shutout and played very well. Jesper Bratt extended his point and assist streak to 10 games. Nico Hischier tallied three assists in the game. Ondrej Palat, Dougie Hamilton, Seamus Casey, Stefan Noesen (PPG), and Tomas Tatar recorded the goals for New Jersey. Palat and Hamilton tallied their 500th career point on Palat’s goal. The Devils scored on their only power play and killed all four penalties. New Jersey recorded 36 shots in the victory. Check out John’s recap if you missed Sunday’s game.
The Last Avalanche Game: Colorado lost to the St. Louis Blues 3-1 on Sunday. Devon Toews opened the scoring for the Avalanche, but the Blues scored the following three goals. The Avalanche recorded 29 shots in the loss. Per Natural Stat Trick, Colorado was expected to score 2.13 goals and allow 2.26. Colorado struggled defensively in the second period, allowing seven high-danger scoring chances, three of which the Blues capitalized on. If you’d like to catch the highlights, check out NHL.com’s recap.
The Last Devils – Avalanche Game: On December 8th, the Devils were shut out by the Avalanche 4-0. It was an ugly game for New Jersey, facing ex-Devil Scott Wedgewood. It was the second game of a back-to-back for Colorado, but it didn’t look like it. The Devils lacked energy and gave up two goals in the first period. It was all Colorado all game. There isn’t much more to say, but if you’d like to rehash that game from December, check out Jackson’s recap. Let’s hope for a better effort and result tonight.
Recent Momentum: Colorado (33-24-2) has stumbled the last two games against St. Louis and Nashville and has only won four of the last eight games. New Jersey (32-21-6) has also won four of their last eight games.
Lineups
Avalanche
Here are Colorado’s projected lines and pairings based on Sunday’s game.
Forwards
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Necas
Jonathan Drouin – Casey Mittelstadt – Juuso Parssinen
Miles Wood – Jack Drury – Ross Colton
Joel Kiviranta – Parker Kelly – Logan O’Connor
Defensemen
Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Samuel Girard – Sam Malinski
Calvin De Haan – Oliver Kylington
Goaltenders
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
Given Colorado’s couple of days of rest, I expect the Devils to face Blackwood.
Devils
Here’s your #NJDevils lines and pairings from practice today here in Denver:
• Lazar is occupying Jack’s spot; Jack has the day off today.
• Markstrom and Daws sharing one net
• No changes from Nashville pic.twitter.com/XI8kVHSOS3— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) February 25, 2025
What to Watch For
Where does Colorado Stand?
The Devils continue to battle their way through the Central Division. The Avalanche (68 points) currently sit in fourth place in the division. With a roster that includes Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Artturi Lehkonen, it’s no shock that Colorado is tied with Carolina for seventh in the NHL in goals with 187. The Avalanche fall within the top ten in shots per game and are fifth in the NHL in total shots. They are third in the NHL in Scoring Chances For Percentage (SCF%) with 54.53 percent. Finally, for what it’s worth, Colorado is third in the NHL in Corsi For percentage (CF%) at 53.71 percent.
It is worth noting that the statistics aren’t all rosy for the Avalanche. Colorado is tenth in the NHL in goals allowed with 119. More specifically, they allow high-danger goals. They have allowed 72 high-danger goals at all strengths, tied for the second-most in the NHL. Colorado has the dangerous offensive pieces but also coughs up a lot of goals off of high-danger scoring chances. The Devils have struggled to convert their chances against good teams, so capitalizing on their high-danger scoring chances will be a significant factor in this game.
Known Threats
Everyone knows Nathan MacKinnon. Team USA certainly saw enough of him in the 4 Nations Face-Off. What may surprise some is that MacKinnon does not lead Colorado in goals. That title belonged to Miko Rantanen before the trade to Carolina and now rests with Artturi Lehkonen (23 goals). Cale Makar is second on the team with 22 goals. MacKinnon does lead the team with an absurd 66 assists and 87 points.
Defensively, Makar and Devon Toews are the top dogs. That number-one pairing is a combined +32 this season. Outside of Makar and Toews, Colorado’s defense is nothing special. Samuel Girard and Sam Malinski, the team’s second pairing, are a combined +3 and have contributed five goals this season. Makar and Toews present an offensive threat, which some would say is the best defense. However, Colorado’s defense declines significantly with the second and third pairings. That is where New Jersey will need to do their damage.
The Devils will be facing a tandem of ex-Devils in goal. Mackenzie Blackwood is projected to start and has played well this season. According to Natural Stat Trick, Blackwood is sporting a save percentage of 0.921 (against all strengths). The former Devil has saved 14.59 goals above average and allows an average of 2.17 goals per game, which is good enough for a team that scores over three goals per game. On top of all these measurable statistics, Blackwood always seems to have a little extra in the tank when facing the Devils.
Who Will Have the Depth Scoring Tonight?
Colorado has struggled to find scoring outside of their stars this season. The Avalanche have scored 187 goals this season. MacKinnon, Lehkonen, Makar, and Rantanen/Necas have accounted for 95 of those goals. I was told there would be no math for this job, but even I can tell you that equates to approximately 50 percent of their goals. As The People Who Matter know, the Devils have had their bouts with scoring problems this year. Head coach Sheldon Keefe has even resorted to adding Nico Hischier to Jack Hughes’ line to spark scoring in recent games. On Sunday, the Devils found depth scoring from Seamus Casey and Tomas Tatar. Can they find that depth scoring like that against Colorado? The Devils will emphasize shutting down Colorado’s top line and pairing, and, as I’ve said in previous previews, added Dougie Hamilton is under added pressure to play solid defense. However, if they can also be the team that gets the depth scoring in this matchup, they will be in a better position to win this game.
Your Thoughts
Will the Devils get after the Avalanche this time around? Will the Devils get some depth scoring in this game? Will Mackenzie Blackwood want to stick it to his former team like Wedgewood did earlier this season? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. Thank you for reading, and GO DEVILS!!!