The Detroit Red Wings are coming off a 7-6 shootout win over the Philadelphia Flyers last night. The Devils are coming off a 6-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night, their third straight loss.
Detroit Red Wings (16-13-4, 36 Points) vs. New Jersey Devils (16-13-2, 39 Points)
When: Saturday, December 23
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Prudential Center (Newark, NJ)
TV: Bally Sports Detroit
Scoring Leaders
Detroit Red Wings
Points: Alex DeBrincat – 31
Goals: Alex DeBrincat – 15
Assists: Shayne Gostisbehere – 18
New Jersey Devils
Points: Jack Hughes – 38
Goals: Jack Hughes – 14
Assists: Jack Hughes – 24
Expected Line Combinations
Detroit Red Wings
Alex DeBrincat – Dylan Larkin – Patrick Kane
Joe Veleno – J.T. Compher – Lucas Raymond
Michael Rasmussen – Andrew Copp – David Perron
Robby Fabbri – Christian Fischer – Daniel Sprong
Jake Walman – Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot – Jeff Petry
Simon Edvinsson – Shayne Gostisbehere
New Jersey Devils
Erik Haula – Jack Hughes – Tyler Toffoli
Ondrej Palat – Nico Hischier – Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier – Dawson Mercer – Alexander Holtz
Curtis Lazar – Michael McLeod – Nathan Bastian
Jonas Siegenthaler – Simon Nemec
Kevin Bahl – John Marino
Brendan Smith – Luke Hughes
By The Numbers:
League Ranking
Detroit Red Wings
PP%: 22.1 (14)
PK%: 78.8 (20)
GF P/G: 3.58 (3)
GA P/G: 3.33 (22)
Faceoff %: 48.8 (23)
New Jersey Devils
PP%: 31.3 (2)
PK%: 77.0 (24)
GF P/G: 3.42 (8)
GA P/G: 3.61 (30)
Faceoff %: 53.5 (4)
Red Wings Player to Watch: Dylan Larkin
Larkin has played in 27 games for the Red Wings this season and has recorded 29 points on 12 goals and 17 assists; he ranks second on the team in all three categories. On the power play, he has 14 points on four goals and ten assists. In his last three games he has recorded four points coming on a goal and three assists.
Larkin’s Line Assignments
Larkin will play on the first line tonight with Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane. He will also play on the first power-play unit with DeBrincat, Kane, J.T. Compher, and Shayne Gostisbehere.
Larkin’s career vs. New Jersey
Larkin has played in 20 games against the Devils and has recorded 23 points on 12 goals and 11 assists. In the two matchups against New Jersey this season, Larkin has two points on a goal and an assist.
Between The Pipes
Detroit: Michael Hutchinson (0-0-0, 0.00 GAA)
After signing a two-way contract on Tuesday, Hutchison is making his Red Wings debut tonight. In his career against the Devils, he has played in five games, going 4-1-0, giving up 13 goals on 124 total shots.
New Jersey: Vitek Vanecek (11-6-1, 3.30 GAA)
Vanecek’s last start came on Thursday against the Oilers, in which he suffered the loss, giving up four goals on 32 shots. He has faced the Red Wings six times in his career, going 3-2-1, and this season, he has faced them twice, going 1-1-0, allowing seven goals on 63 shots.
Wrap Up
The Red Wings are heading into a tough back-to-back and must find a way to sweep this. The offense has clearly been there, but the goaltending is a situation. This team needs Alex Lyon and Ville Husso healthy; despite some struggles, they can be a vital part of this team, especially in games like last night that should not have gone to overtime. Tonight’s game will be a tough test. Despite the Devils not being in a playoff spot, they are still a talented team, and the Red Wings need to find a way to come home with a win.
In their last ten games against New Jersey, the Red Wings are 5-5-0, and they’ve scored 30 goals each in those ten games. The Red Wings this season are 1-1-0 against the Devils and have outscored them 7-4.
