After handling the Kraken on Friday, the Devils look to make it three wins in a row tonight.
The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (18-9-2) vs. the Colorado Avalanche (15-13-0)
The Time: 7:00 PM ET
The Broadcast: TV: MSG, NHL Network, Altitude 2; Audio: Devils Hockey Radio
Down Year
With 30 points in the standings through 28 games, this team is on track to be the worst version of the Colorado Avalanche since they went 38-30-14 in the 2018-19 season, when they made the second Wild Card to make the playoffs. Still, their current pace has them slated for about 87 points at the end of the year, which would be the first time they failed to reach 90 since Jared Bednar’s first season in 2016-18, when they went 22-56-4 for 48 points. But is the situation dire? The Avalanche are currently in ninth place in the Western Conference with Jim Montgomery’s Blues hot on their tail in tenth place.
Injuries
Some of these struggles have to do with injuries. Their captain, Gabriel Landeskog, still has no timetable for a return. Artturi Lehkonen missed the first 12 games of their season due to recovery from a shoulder injury. Their early season goal-scoring leader, Ross Colton, was out from October 28 to yesterday’s game against Detroit. Colton had eight goals in 10 games before going down. And in late November, the injury bug struck again, with all of Jonathan Drouin, Olver Kylington, Josh Manson, and Miles Wood out with week-to-week or month-to-month injuries. Only Kylington has avoided injured reserve.
I will say, though, I am disappointed to not be able to see Paul Cotter and Miles Wood on the ice together. Hopefully Ross Colton does not crash out with a couple major penalties, though. I do not think he has the strength in his recently-healed foot to be fighting the new Devils right now.
The Usual Suspects
Despite their issues, the Avalanche still have a top offensive team. Nathan MacKinnon (41), Mikko Rantanen (36), and Cale Makar (35) are all well-over a point-per-game. After that, though, there is a steep decline, as Casey Mittelstadt — their fourth-leading scorer — went on a steep decline after starting the season with 13 points in their first 10 games. He has six points in 18 games since then. The Avalanche have gotten good contributions from Lehkonen, Colton, and Valeri Nichushkin, who returned to the team after a slew of off-ice issues and a six-month suspension.
However, the Avalanche are not as well put together this season. They are 30th in the league in goals allowed. Only a handful of players with 150 or more minutes at five-on-five — Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Joel Kiviranta, Ivan Ivan, and Miles Wood — have broken even in team goals for and against at five-on-five (and even then, only barely). So, they have a good first line and a good fourth line. What happens between there is probably not something you would want to ask Jared Bednar about. Yes, he team is still doing better than average in the expected goals department — but it is too top-heavy, and they do not have the goaltenders to bail out the middle six, as they have a team save percentage of .876.
That said, we will likely face the newly-acquired Scott Wedgewood tonight. After Wedgewood went 2-3-1 with an .893 save percentage for the pitiful Nashville Predators, he has gone 1-1-0 with Colorado with a .929 save percentage. In his career, Wedgewood is 3-0-0 in five games against the Devils with a .958 save percentage, 1.28 goals against average, and a shutout. On both occasions the Devils moved on from Wedgewood, I was completely against the idea, and he has burned us in each of his starts as an opponent. Ironically, though of the three teams he has played significant games for, he has his best career mark with the Devils at a .908 save percentage. We don’t want to let him get too good of a start with Colorado, though.
Three in a Row
Winning tonight would make it three in a row for the New Jersey Devils. They have pulled that off just twice this season. First was from November 4 to November 9 against the Oilers, Canadiens, and Islanders. Second was their run through the Hurricanes, Capitals, and Predators later in the month. The team has yet to have a four-game winning streak. With how well the team has generally done over the last few weeks, though — they do not have consecutive losses since October — I want to see them build these streaks up a bit more.
I would expect Jake Allen to go tonight, given the long layoff for him and the need to keep him fresh. Allen is 5-3-1 with a .903 save percentage, and while I would push back on the idea he has been better than Markstrom, he has been very good in some games for the Devils this season. Markstrom is currently on a personal three-game winning streak, marking the second time this year he has had one (MTL-NYI-FLA; DET-NYR-SEA). However, I think it would be better to save him for Toronto, allowing Allen to probably play next on December 14 when Chicago comes to town. Let it be the battle of the backups tonight (though Wedgewood is actually Colorado’s best goalie, and I would not be surprised to see him get to 35 or 40 starts this year).
Your Thoughts
What do you think of tonight’s game? Are you excited to see the three of the best six or seven centers in the league on the ice tonight? Who do you think will have a big night? Leave your comments below, and thanks for reading.