Today’s NHL Prediction features an East vs. West matchup between two of the league’s elites. The New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche face off in the final game of the Devil’s four-game road trip. The Devils (7-3-1) are coming off a 4-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks. As for Colorado, they enter tonight off the heels of a 7-0 drumming against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Devils so far are 2-1-0 on their tour of the Central Division. They entered the road trip without captain Nico Hischier, and have also lost Jack Hughes in the process. Their recent games haven’t been pretty, but they’ve managed to fight and claw their way to wins. This will also be the first time forwards Miles Wood and Tomas Tatar face off against their former team.
Last season, the Devils won both matchups against the Avalanche. The first win came by way of a 1-0 defensive battle, while the second win could not have been any more opposite, a 7-5 offensive slugfest. Colorado will look to get revenge this year and take advantage of a depleted Devils team, while New Jersey looks to scratch their way to more points.
NHL Predictions: New Jersey vs. Colorado
Three Keys to Victory For New Jersey
Start the Game on Time
One of the Devil’s biggest issues this season has been slow starts. They have managed to score the first goal only twice so far this season. Luckily, they can blitz teams for four or more goals a night. That will certainly change the longer Hischier and Hughes are out. The Avalanche possess elite talent all over their roster but still sit in the bottom third in goals for, while also giving up the sixth-fewest goals per NaturalStattrick. Scoring goals may be hard to come by, but if the Devils can get out to an early lead it greatly enhances their chances of winning, especially without Hughes and Hichier to help prop them up.
Down their two best players, the Devils will need to play a meat and potatoes, north-south game. Top six players like Timo Meier, Ondrej Palat, and Michael McLeod will have big roles to play getting in on the forecheck for this team to have a chance to win. They showed for large chunks of the Blackhawks game the ability to get the puck in deep, work it low to high, and get shots on net. The same game plan will be needed against a fast Colorado team that can have you chasing if you’re out of position. However, if the Devils can establish a forecheck early on, and possibly score the first goal for once, they’ll be able to settle in and not chase the game.
Continued Depth Scoring
Comparing New Jersey’s top six to Colorado’s top six currently, there is a clear advantage. Where the Devils can win their battles is with their bottom six. In recent games, the Devils have been getting much more contribution from those lines compared to the first few weeks. Curtis Lazar is finding the net. Alexander Holtz in a fourth-line role has finally looked comfortable and scoring. Even recent call-up Max Willman scored against Chicago. The theme being contributions from depth players with Hischier and Hughes out is paramount.
Special Teams Continue to be Special
The Devil’s powerplay continues to cook at a historic rate. They currently sit at 42.9%, nearly a full 10% better than the next team. Much of this is due to the production from Jack Hughes, but even in his absence against Chicago, they still managed to score on the man advantage. A bulk of the work has now been shifted to Jesper Bratt and Luke Hughes to carry the puck up the ice, but it was Dawson Mercer who found the back of the net on the PP. The special teams matchup against Colorado will be a good one though. They currently are tied for the second-best penalty kill in the league at 92.5%. It’s set up for a war of attrition between those two units tonight, but a war the Devils will need to win to get points.
As for the Devil’s penalty kill, that’s a different story. They currently sit 20th in the NHL at 76.3%. However, Colorado’s powerplay hasn’t been exactly firing on all cylinders to start the year. They rank 18th in the NHL, scoring at 18.4%. The Devil’s powerplay versus the Avalanche penalty kill is a much better storyline than the Devil’s very mediocre penalty kill versus the Avalanche’s very mediocre powerplay.
Prediction Time
Despite putting together some results with key players out, this Colorado Avalanche team may be too much for the Devils to handle. Colorado is coming off of an embarrassing loss to Vegas a few nights ago and should come out with an increased sense of urgency. For New Jersey to win, they’ll need to win it ugly. Score early and try and lock it down defensively. They can’t try and get into a shootout against Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and the rest of the elite talent on Colorado. It’s not unwinnable, but the Devils might just not have the horses to keep up with an angry Avalanche group.
Prediction: Avalanche win 4-1
Main Photo: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
