Game Preview #75: New Jersey Devils @ Seattle Kraken

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (26-42-6) head to Climate Pledge Arena for the first time to face the Seattle Kraken (23-44-6)

The Time: 10:00 PM ET

The Broadcast: MSG+

The Kraken will be one of the last teams the Devils face this season, but they were also one of the first. After tonight, there will be just 7 games left of the 82 in the complete regular season. The previous matchup was on October 19th, just the second game of the season for the Devils. That game was a 4-2 win, getting the Devils off to a 2-0 start to the season. Those were better times. Dawson Mercer got his 1st career NHL goal and Colton White his first NHL point in that game.

What happened last game?

The last Devils game was a 3-1 loss to the Avalanche. The Devils gave up all 3 goals in the 2nd period to the high-powered Avs. Jesper Bratt scored the lone Devils goal about halfway through the 3rd period. Andrew Hammond made 27 saves on 30 shots for a .900 sv%. You can read more about that game in Chris’s recap here. It sounds like the game went pretty much as expected, but there were a couple good signs.

Probable Lineups

The Devils’ lineup last game looked like this

These were the Kraken’s practice lines from a few days ago:

Speaking of the Kraken, let’s look at their most recent game. It was a 5-3 loss to Calgary on the 12th, as their game in Winnipeg on the 13th was postponed due to weather. The Kraken had a 3-1 lead in that game before giving up 4 unanswered in the 3rd. Donato, Rask, and Larsson had the goals for Seattle. It seems as if goaltending, as it has been all season for them, was once again an issue for Seattle with 4 non-EN goals given up. Driedger started that game, but Grubauer has been the starter for Seattle, so we’ll most likely see him tonight. The Kraken’s inability to get good goaltending is good news for the Devils, because they have also been unable to get good goaltending. Even matchup? Could be potential for a high scoring game there. However, whoever is in net still needs to make some saves and the Devils need to score more than the 1 goal last game to win.

Any predictions about tonight’s game? What do you think is most important to get a win tonight? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thank you for reading.