Tonight is the second half of a home-and-home with the Minnesota Wild, and the Devils are looking for the sweep
The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (39-29-7) vs. Minnesota Wild (41-28-5)
The Time: 7:00pm ET
The Broadcast: MSGSN, FDSNNO, FDSNWIX, NHLN, Devils Radio Network
Last Devils Game
Usually I do a “Last Devils Game”, “Last (Opponent) Game”, and “Last Devils-(Opponent) Game” section in these previews. But considering those three sections would all be the same game, we’ll just condense it to one this time. The Devils last played on Saturday against these Minnesota Wild. Nico Hischier led the way with a hat trick, and New Jersey skated away with a big 5-2 victory.
Hischier Steps Up
Considering this is the back end of a home-and-home in which the last game was just two days ago, there really isn’t that much new ground to cover between these two teams. One thing that absolutely does deserve special mention from last game though is, of course, the captain. Nico Hischier stepped up when his team needed him most. Saturday marked the second time this season Hischier recorded a hat trick (the other being November 25th against the Nashville Predators). He also set a new career high in goals in a single season over the weekend, as he is now up to 33. His previous high was 31, set in 2022-23.
Hischier didn’t just get lucky with three random goals that came against the run of play either. According to Natural Stat Trick, Hischier posted a 5-on-5 Expected Goals For% of 65.55%. This is even more impressive considering Minnesota head coach, old friend John Hynes, matched his top defense pairing of Brock Faber and Jake Middleton up against Hischier and his line all night long.
Coming off a dismal loss to the Winnipeg Jets the night before, the Devils really needed a strong bounce back effort. Hischier answered the call, helping deliver his team a rare win in the second half of a back-to-back (New Jersey is now up to 3-7-1 in such situations). Kudos to the captain.
A Promising Sign
Jacob Markstrom has struggled mightily since returning from injury in early March. Entering Saturday, in eight games since coming back on March 2nd, Markstrom was 2-5-1 with a woeful .846 save%. His puck tracking was less sharp, his rebound control was compromised, and he was looking like a shadow of what he was pre-injury.
Well it was only one game, but Markstrom looked much, much stronger on Saturday in Minnesota. He made 22 saves on 24 shots, good for a .917 save%. According to Natural Stat Trick, he allowed those two goals on 1.85 Expected Goals from the Wild. So yes, he was technically in the red as far as Goals Saved Above Expected go, but it was close enough to where I consider it basically breaking even. And with Markstorm’s recent form, that’s a big win for the Devils. Baby steps.
I would imagine we see Jake Allen tonight, but it’s possible head coach Sheldon Keefe wants to see if Markstrom can keep the good times rolling again tonight. Either way, it was so nice to see Markstrom put together a good performance again.
Finally
The Devils put up 33 shots on goal against the Wild on Saturday. This is significant because that was the first time they posted 30 or more shots since all the way back on February 23rd against the Nashville Predators. Yes, incredibly, it took more than a month for the Devils to reach 30 shots on goal again. They almost went the entire month of March without doing so. They have one more chance to do it in March tonight, and I for one would love to see 30+ again.
Minnesota’s Other Young Studs
In the last game preview, we focused on Brock Faber, Minnesota’s stud young blueliner. So today, let’s focus on the other two budding stars the Wild have on their roster: Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi.
We’ll start with Boldy. The Massachusetts native was the 12th overall pick in the 2019 draft. He got his first taste of NHL action with 47 games in 2021-22, and is now in the midst of his fourth season (and third full season) with the Wild. Boldy has been a consistently strong producer for Minnesota, posting 31 goals and 63 points over 81 games in 2022-23, 29 goals and 69 points over 75 games in 2023-24, and 24 goals and 62 points through 74 games this season. Talk about consistency.
According to Natural Stat Trick, this season, Boldy has been a net positive as far as 5-on-5 puck possession goes:
CF%: 50.35%
SCF%: 52.25%
HDCF%: 53.32%
xGF%: 52.02%
Strong numbers for the young winger.
Next we have Marco Rossi, the 9th overall pick in the 2020 draft. Rossi serves as a bitter “What-if” for a lot of Devils fans, as I distinctly remember a lot of them (myself included) pounding the table for New Jersey to use their 7th overall pick in that year’s draft on him. Instead they went with Alexander Holtz, and we all know how that turned out.
But while Holtz was a major disappointment for the Devils, has Rossi performed to the level that would make him a big regret for general manager Tom Fitzgerald? Well he did get off to a slow start in his career, only making it into two games in 2021-22 with zero points, and 19 games in 2022-23 with only a single assist. However I’d say that all of his early career struggles were tied directly to his serious health issues. Rossi caught COVID-19 in November of 2020, and shortly after, doctors discovered that Rossi has a heart condition called myocarditis. It was serious enough to throw Rossi’s future (not just his athletic future, his entire future) in doubt. But Rossi overcame those terrifying health scares and has since established himself as an NHL regular. On a human level, it’s easy to root for the kid.
Since those early career concerns, Rossi has been a steady contributor for the Wild. In his first full season last year, he posted 21 goals and 40 points in 82 games. This season, Rossi is up to 22 goals and 55 points through 74 games. Certainly not elite numbers, but they’re trending that way.
So what about his underlying numbers? NST has his 5-on-5 marks in roughly the same range as Boldy:
CF%: 49.38%
SCF%: 51.40%
HDCF%: 52.58%
xGF%: 52.86%
Steady, unspectacular, but promising for a player Rossi’s age. With his pedigree, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Rossi emerge as a top center in this league over the next few years.
Brock Faber might get most of the headlines when it comes to Minnesota’s young talent, but Boldy and Rossi are more than holding their own. Each were held without a point in the game on Saturday, but if they both get back to their games tonight, that could spell trouble for New Jersey.
Your Take
What do you expect out of tonight’s game? Do you want to see Markstrom back in the net off of his first good start in a while, or do you want to go back to Allen? What are you expecting out of the Wild after the loss on Saturday? As always, thanks for reading!