Games five and six of the preseason are here, and with cuts looming around the corner, the players have to put in their best show for these games.
The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (3-0-1) @ the Ottawa Senators (3-0-0 SBN; Silver Sevens)
New Jersey Devils @ the New York Islanders (3-0-2 SBN; Lighthouse Hockey)
The Time: 6:00 PM EST for the Senators game; 7:00 PM EST for the Islanders game
The Broadcast: NHLN-US, SN1 - Senators; MSG+ - Islanders
Rival-Bashing: In game 4, the Devils bested the Rangers 2-1. While I personally didn’t watch the game, John noted it was a real rivalry match. For the game, the Devils bested the Rangers shotwise, putting up 33 shots as compared to the Rangers 18 shots. The first goal came from Joseph Blandisi, who cleaned up a rebound on the powerplay. Then Drew Stafford scored on a sniep, with great passing from dark horse Jasper Bratt and Devils sophomore Pavel Zacha. Bratt has seriously impressed with his play on the year, and his awareness of Stafford’s location on the play led to the goal. Cory Schneider had a great game, letting in only one shot, and stone-walling the Rangers many times as well.
Mighty Ottawa: According to the Silver Sevens’ Colin4000, the Canadiens-Senators game featured players primarily trying to make the team. Logan Brown dominated the game, with two goals. Colin also mentioned the Senators 2015 first round pick Thomas Chabot. Lastly, I’ll mention Alex Formenton, solely for the reason that he is a 2nd round pick from this year’s draft, and may have a chance to make the Senators roster. Good for him.
New York: The Islanders defeated the Rangers 2-1 on the 22nd. Casey Bailey and Anthony Beauvillier scored for the Islanders, with Vinni Littieri scoring for the Rangers. Joshua Ho-Sang impressed for the Islanders, with Newsday even writing an article about him. There isn’t much about this game online, for whatever reason.
The Devils Line-Up: Andrew Gross lists both games lineups here. For Brooklyn:
Brian Gibbons-Joseph Blandisi-Jimmy Hayes
Blake Pietila-Michael McLeod-Stefan Noesen
Miles Wood-Bracken Kearns-Nick Lappin
Ben Thomson-Kevin Rooney-Blake Speers
Brian Strait-Damon Severson
Michael Kapla-Joshua Jacobs
Colton White/Yaroslav Dyblenko-Ben Lovejoy
Keith Kinkaid
Scott Wedgewood
(Kinkaid scheduled to play the full game).
And for Ottawa
Morning skate lines for P.E.I.
Taylor Hall-Pavel Zacha-Kyle Palmieri
Marcus Johansson-Nico Hischier-Drew Stafford
John Quenneville-Adam Henrique-Jesper Bratt
Ryan Kujawinski-Blake Coleman-Nathan Bastian
Andy Greene-Steven Santini
Will Butcher-Viktor Loov
Mirco Mueller-Dalton Prout
Cory Schneider
Mackenzie Blackwood
(Schneider scheduled to play the full game)
Based on the lineups, it seems evident the Ottawa game is where the majority of the actual Devils team will be emphasied.
Ottawa’s Lineup: The official list for the Senators game can be found here
New York’s Lineup: The Islanders lineup can be found here, with Greiss confirmed started the whole game
What To Watch For: In the Brooklyn game, it’ll be interesting to see how Joseph Blandisi and Jimmy Hayes do, as both seem to be fighting for a roster on the team. Hayes is on a PTO right now, so this game is crucial for him making the team, whereas Blandisi would just be sent down to the AHL. Nick Lappin and Miles Wood are also fighting for spots. In the Ottawa game, Will Buchter and Steven Santini are also fighting for a roster spot, so it’ll be interesting to see how this turns out.
The Goal: See who plays well, and who deserves to make the team. These games mean nothing for us as fans results-wise, so we should just sit back and enjoy what we see.
So: What would you like to see in today’s games? Who would you like to see perform well? Sorry for the severe lateness, and have a great day.