WGD: GAME 24: RED WINGS VS DEVILS
By Brock Seguin
6 years agoThe story remained the same for the Red Wings at Madison Square Garden—a great Jimmy Howard performance ruined by the Red Wings inability to score on Henrik Lundqvist. Howard has now lost five of his last six starts (1-3-2) at MSG despite posting a 1.84 GAA and .933 SV% because the Red Wings have averaged just 1.17 goals per game in those contests.
The overtime defeat extended their losing streak to three (0-1-2) and moves them to 2-1-2 in five games since their Western Canadian road trip. Tonight they start another brief three-game home-stand before they head to Montreal next Saturday.
They will host a New Jersey Devils team that got off to a great start to the season, but have lost three of their last five, while averaging 2.20 goals for and 2.40 goals against during that time. However the Devils do enter play with an impressive 7-2-2 record on the road this season as they continue to blowout their preseason expectations.
Let’s see how these two teams stack up against each other:
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| RECORD | 10-9-4 (4th IN ATL) | 13-5-4 (2nd IN MET) |
| GOALS FOR | 2.78 GF/PG (22nd) | 3.18 GF/PG (9TH) |
| GOALS AGAINST | 2.83 GA/PG (11TH) | 3.00 GA/PG (t-18TH) |
| POWER PLAY | 23.3% (6TH) | 23.2% (7TH) |
| PENALTY KILL | 85.2% (4TH) | 79.8% (15TH) |
| CORSIFOR% | 49.46 CF% (18TH) | 46.49 CF% (30TH) |
THE RED WINGS
Detroit Red Wings lines via DailyFaceoff
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 GUSTAV NYQUIST |  HENRIK ZETTERBERG |  ANTHONY MANTHA |
 TOMAS TATAR |  DYLAN LARKIN |  JUSTIN ABDELKADER |
 DARREN HELM |  FRANS NIELSEN |  LUKE GLENDENING |
 DAVID BOOTH |  ANDREAS ATHANASIOU |  SCOTT WILSON |
The Red Wings will have a slightly different looking lineup this evening as they go back to the traditional 12 forward, six defenseman look because Trevor Daley is out with an upper-body injury that he suffered last night. Head coach Jeff Blashill said that Daley may have suffered a stinger, but that it could be more serious and that he will undergo an MRI today. With Daley out, Xavier Ouellet will play as the sixth defenseman and David Booth will draw back in.
The Red Wings offence has dried up a little bit since the Calgary game, but Justin Abdelkader has actually put up solid numbers recently, collecting two goals and 10 assists (12 points) in his last 12 games. Niklas Kronwall has also been an unlikely source of offence recently as he’s scored twice with two assists (four points) in his last six games. Someone a little more expected has been Tomas Tatar, who had the only goal last night, extending his point streak to four games (3G / 1A).
THE DEVILS
New Jersey Devils lines via DailyFaceoff
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
 TAYLOR HALL |  NICO HISCHIER |  JESPER BRATT |
 ADAM HENRIQUE |  TRAVIS ZAJAC |  DREW STAFFORD |
 PAVEL ZACHA |  BRIAN BOYLE |  MILES WOOD |
 BRIAN GIBBONS |  BLAKE COLEMAN |  STEFAN NOESEN |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | |
|---|---|
 ANDY GREENE |  STEVEN SANTINI |
 JOHN MOORE |  DAMON SEVERSON |
 WILL BUTCHER |  BEN LOVEJOY |
The Devils are obviously led by their dynamic winger Taylor Hall. Hall had one goal and two assists in their win over the Canucks last night and gives him 24 points (7G / 17A) in 22 games on the season. Hall plays the majority of his time on this summer’s No.1 overall pick, Nico Hischier’s wing. Hischier has picked up 16 points (3G / 13A) in his first 22 career games, but he has fired 49 shots on goal, so you have to think that 6.1 shooting percentage will improve and he’ll start to score more frequently.
They have another pair of rookies that have transcended this lineup this season. Last year’s Hobey Baker Award winner Will Butcher has 17 points (2G / 15A) on the Devils’ blueline and former London Knight (OHL) Jesper Bratt exploded out of the gate but has just one goal and one assist in his last nine games.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
We know for certain that Keith Kinkaid gets the start for New Jersey and Petr Mrazek will likely go for the Red Wings after Howard went yesterday.
Mrazek’s last outing was in relief of Howard during the Red Wings loss to the Oilers—he allowed two goals on nine shots. Mrazek really hasn’t played much this season, but has posted a 3.10 GAA and .905 SV% in his seven appearances.
Kinkaid stopped all 12 shots that he faced in relief of Cory Schneider in their loss in Winnipeg last Saturday. The 28-year-old has gone 3-0-1 with a 2.92 GAA and .915 SV% in four road starts this season.
HOW TO WATCH
Puck-drop between the Red Wings and Devils is at 7:00p.m. at Little Caesars Arena. You can catch the game on Fox Sports Detroit.
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