Colorado Avalanche at New Jersey Devils: Game Preview #18

The Time: 7:00 PM EST

The Broadcast: TV - MSG+; Radio - 660 AM, 101.9 FM WFAN.

The Matchup: The Colorado Avalanche (5-8-5; SBN Blog: Mile High Hockey) at the New Jersey Devils (8-7-2)

The Last Devils Game:

The Devils went into Washington with a chance to win two straight in regulation for the first time since the beginning of the season. It wasn't pretty, but two points is two points. A rather dull affair was scoreless until Braden Holtby had a case of the Wandering Hedbergs and decided throw the puck up to Mike Cammalleri. A quick shot and a quick goal. It was also the second straight game for Seth Helgeson and he played significantly more minutes than in his debut against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday. John's recap is here.

The Last Avs Game:

Well, they beat the Rangers in a shootout.

The Avs scored even-strength goals by Matt Duchene and Alex Tanguay in the first two periods, then tied the game on a powerplay goal by Nathan McKinnon in the third. MacKinnon and Tanguay scored in the shootout to beat the Rangers. It was the Avs' second win over their last seven games, both of which coming in the shootout. They haven't won a game in regulation since November 30th against the New York Islanders. Right now, this is not a good team.

The Last Devils-Avs Game:

You'd have to go to back to February of last season, just before the Olympic break. Lack of goals, unfortunate deflections...yea, that sounds like your 2013 - 2014 New Jersey Devils. Here's John's recap.

The Goal:

Keep winning. The Avs are a team that isn't scoring at nearly the same rate as last season. In fact, during 5v5 play, they're only scoring 43% of the goals. Per Tom Gilutti after last night's game, coach Pete DeBoer hadn't decided on tonight's starter. Will we see Keith Kincaid get his first start? Who knows? Schneider has to sit for one of these eventually, right?

Also, how about the play of Adam Larsson recently? Last night he looked steady in his own end, confident on the puck, and seems to be getting better and better. We all saw lat season and early this season how he played better with Eric Gelinas, but he's looked solid alongside his former defense partner in Albany. Perhaps Larsson needs that familiarity in his defense partner, but whatever works, right? He's been great and let's hope that continues.

What a Difference a Year Makes, eh Roy?

Three letters, Patrick, they're all you need to remember: P. D. O. Got it? Okay, here's this season compared to last season. Roy said the team hasn't been getting the bounces they did last year and that's quite obvious when looking at how the team has been running a bit cooler in the luck department than last season.

Blackjack:

Matt Duchene equated their season to Blackjack recently. He echoed the same sentiments as his coach (bemoaning the bounces they aren't getting), but also spoke about last season they had confidence in scoring goals in bunches. This year, it's just not the same. It sounds like a team that doesn't have a lot of confidence and if the Devils jump on them early, it could be over early.

Your Take: Now I'd like to hear from you. What will you be watching for tonight? Do you think Schneider finally sits down for a game? What about the play of Helgeson? How is he looking to you? Enjoy the game and go Devils!