Game Preview #70: New Jersey Devils vs. Calgary Flames

Coming off a huge road win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Devils are back at home to host the surprising Flames

The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (37-26-6) vs. Calgary Flames (31-25-11)

The Time: 7:00pm ET

The Broadcast: MSGSN2, Devils Radio Network

Last Devils Game

For the second time in a week, New Jersey played a massive game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Devils took care of business with a win in the first of those two meetings, and they did it again with a 2-1 regulation victory in Ohio on Monday. After a fairly even first two periods, the Jackets utterly dismantled the Devils in the third, outshooting New Jersey a bewildering 24-3 in the final frame. But Jake Allen was masterful, and while he did give up one goal in the third, he was the only reason the Devils skated away with two points. It was the definition of a stolen win.

Last Flames Game

Calgary continued their east coast swing with a 2-1 regulation victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night, a decision that everyone around here appreciated. Despite the close score, the Flames dominated, outshooting the Rangers 35-13 in the game, with Nazem Kadri and Matt Coronato providing the goals.

Last Devils-Flames Game

We have to go all the way back to November 1st to find it, and it wasn’t a pretty one. Jacob Markstrom played a solid game against his former team, but the skaters in front of him were sloppy in a 3-0 shutout loss.

Has The Season Stabilized?

After months of playing substandard hockey, the Devils might have finally righted the ship. They’ve won four of their last five games, including the aforementioned two wins over the Blue Jackets. Those two in particular were massive considering the standings in the Eastern Conference at the time (more on that shortly). The process hasn’t been perfect in recent times, but the results have been in New Jersey’s favor more often than not.

A couple weeks ago, Jared made the case that the last-second loss to Dallas on March 4th was the worst loss this franchise has seen since opening night of 2019. And while I don’t necessarily disagree, I would argue that Friday, March 7th was the absolute lowest moment of the entire season for New Jersey so far. March 7th was trade deadline day, and all of us expected general manager Tom Fitzgerald to take a big swing to help bolster an offense that just lost Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton for the season. Instead, Fitzgerald brought in Brian Dumoulin, Dennis Cholowski, Daniel Sprong, and Cody Glass. Aside from Sprong, all those players were more known for their defensive chops than what they can do offensively. Fitzgerald failed to upgrade the most glaring weakness on the roster, and the fanbase was furious. And then to top it all off, the Devils had to play a game that night, and it was one of their worst of the campaign: a lifeless 6-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

This was when my faith in this team was at an all-time low, and for the first time, I thought missing the postseason was more likely than not.

But since that day, the Devils have been hot. Four wins in five games is massive for a team that hasn’t played well since Christmas, and as it turns out, Cody Glass has fit like a glove on this roster. In his five games with the club, Glass has two goals and five points. According to Natural Stat Trick, Glass has controlled play quite well, with a 5-on-5 Expected Goals For% of 57.31%. Meanwhile, Jacob Markstrom hasn’t looked like himself since he returned from injury, but Jake Allen has more than picked up the slack:

Note that that chart is not over the last five games, or even 10 games. 20 games played is a significant sample, and Jake Allen leads the entire league over that time according to Moneypuck.

And since that Winnipeg game on March 7th, Jesper Bratt has played some of the best hockey of his career, which is saying something. In the five games since that day, Bratt has registered three goals and 10 points, an absurd 2.0 points per game rate. He’s only been held off the scoresheet in one of those games, and recently he’s combined with Glass and Erik Haula to make a very effective line.

As we enter this game, the Devils have not locked down their playoff spot. But thanks to Bratt, Allen, Glass, and plenty of other contributors, New Jersey is back into “almost certain” territory. After a bad few months of hockey and one of the worst days in a long time, credit the Devils for turning their season around.

The Lay Of The Land

So with this grand declaration of the Devils saving their season, you might be asking, “What exactly do the standings look like right now?”. Let’s take a look:

The Devils are currently in third in the Metropolitan Division with 80 points in 69 games. The closest Metro team to them is the New York Rangers with 72 points in 69 games. They are followed closely by the surging New York Islanders and the fading Columbus Blue Jackets, each with 70 points in 67 games. The Pennsylvania teams are too far back to consider them a serious threat to New Jersey.

Meanwhile in the Atlantic, the Ottawa Senators (who the Devils will see on Saturday) were red hot until they had their six-game winning streak snapped by the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. Ottawa currently sits at 77 points in 67 games, which actually means if they win their two games in hand on the Devils, they would be ahead on points by one. And speaking of the Canadiens, they have clawed their way into playoff position themselves, with 73 points in 67 games. The Detroit Red Wings have 70 points in 68 games, and the Boston Bruins have 69 points in 69 games.

So in all, the Devils once again have a workable cushion between them and the rest of the pack. Ottawa is closest to them in points, but so long as New Jersey stays ahead of the rest of the Metro, they will be locked into the third seed in the division and the automatic playoff berth that comes with it.

Out Of Town Scoreboard

And finally, let’s take a look at all the relevant action around the league tonight:

• The Rangers host the Maple Leafs at 7:00pm.
• The Blue Jackets are home against the Panthers at 7:00pm.
• There’s a big game on Long Island tonight, with the Isles welcoming the now playoff positioned Canadiens to town for a 7:30pm tilt.
• If you still hold out hope that New Jersey can catch Carolina for second in the Metropolitan Division, The Hurricanes are on the west coast right now, and tonight they battle the San Jose Sharks at 10:30pm.
• Over in the Atlantic Division, the Senators are home against the Avalanche for a 7:00pm game this evening.
• And the Bruins are out in Vegas to take on the Golden Knights at 10:00pm.

Fired Up

The Calgary Flames were expected to be one of the worst teams in the NHL coming into the season. After selling off a ton of pieces last year, they had the look of a team that would bring up the rear in the standings.

Well apparently no one decided to tell the Flames that they were supposed to be awful.

Yes it’s true that they’ve lost more games than they’ve won, and yes it’s true that their 73 points in 67 games isn’t exactly awe inspiring. But it’s a monumental win that this team is in the position it’s currently in. Calgary enters tonight just two points out of a playoff spot in the West, with a game in hand on the team currently occupying the second wild card slot, the Vancouver Canucks.

But the Flames might be in the process of getting extinguished. Over their last 15 games, Calgary has won just five of them. They are coming off a demolition of the Rangers (even though the score might not indicate it), but efforts like those have been the exception and not the norm since roughly the calendar flipped to February.

This is still a team that has a chance to make the playoffs though, so the Devils better expect an extremely motivated bunch. Starting on time will be key.

Scoring By Committee

The Flames do not boast a game-breaking scorer on their roster. Instead they’ve relied on a group effort to put up points. Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau share the team lead in scoring, with 50 points apiece. Their stat lines are shockingly similar, with Kadri at 24 goals and 26 assists, and Huberdeau at 25 goals and 25 assists. Solid numbers, but far from top of the league material.

But Calgary does have 10 players with at least 20 points (for reference, that’s the same number as the Devils), and seven players with at least double digit goals scored (again for reference, the Devils have eight). The Flames might not have that superstar skater, but they are a surprisingly deep team. Every one of New Jersey’s lines and pairings has to come prepared to counter a balanced attack.

Familiar Faces

Calgary and New Jersey have linked up on a handful of trades in recent times. Prior to last season, the Devils traded Yegor Sharangovich for Tyler Toffoli. Toffoli came exactly as advertised: A limited yet effective goal-scorer. Then this past summer, Tom Fitzgerald swung the big trade for Jacob Markstrom, with the most significant piece going the other way being defenseman Kevin Bahl. And while it wasn’t a trade, popular Devil Blake Coleman is still going strong up in Calgary.

In 58 games played, Bahl has put up three goals and 17 points. Modest numbers to be sure, but Bahl was never a player that was going to compile his value on the offensive end of the ice. Bahl is averaging 21:21 time on ice this season, third on the team behind fellow defensemen Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar. So put another way, Bahl has settled in as a second pairing blueliner for the Flames.

Sharangovich had a very promising first season in Calgary, posting 31 goals and 59 points last season. That campaign led to Sharangovich being rewarded with a five-year, $28.75 million contract. His second season with the Flames hasn’t gone according to plan, however, as Yegor has only put up 12 goals and 24 points in 59 games. Sharangovich was a fan-favorite during his time in New Jersey, and I think most Devils fans are happy for him that he finally landed that big contract. But the bloom might be off the rose in Calgary, although Sharangovich still has plenty of time to get his career back on track.

Finally, Coleman is in his fourth season with the Flames. After reaching the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career last season, the forechecking menace is up to 13 goals and 31 points in 67 games played this year. A drop off in production to be sure.

Leader Of The Pack

Flames rookie netminder Dustin Wolf has been terrific. So terrific that he finds himself on most experts’ shortlists of Calder Trophy favorites.

Wolf enters tonight with a .912 Sv%, and a 2.26 Goals Against Average in 41 games played. And in case you were wondering if these numbers are just the product of playing behind a great defense that makes his life easy, according to Natural Stat Trick, Wolf is seventh in the NHL with 12.97 Goals Saved Above Average.

Wolf has impressed in his rookie season, and it might just end with a playoff berth and a Calder Trophy if all goes well. Dan Vladar got the start in Calgary’s last game on Tuesday, so expect to see the rookie phenom in net against the Devils tonight.

Your Take

What do you make of tonight’s game? Do you expect Jesper Bratt and/or Cody Glass to keep up their terrific recent form? Which of the former Devils will you be watching the closest tonight? As always, thanks for reading!