New Jersey Devils look for a little fatherly advice after taking it on the chin 2-1 on Tuesday night, as they travel down south to battle the Hurricanes.
New Jersey Devils (12-10-2, 26 points- 9th in Eastern conference)
Carolina Hurricanes (8-12-4, 20 points- 15th in Eastern Conference)
Today, 7:00 PM on FSCR, MSG+
PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
By Patrick Comia
If you travel down Interstate 95 by car, it will take you eight and a quarter hours between Newark, NJ and Raleigh, NC.
That’s what the Devils will be facing when they bring their fathers with them to the South to battle the Hurricanes, who are fighting with the Columbus Blue Jackets to remain out of last place in the Eastern Conference.
The sting of Tuesday night’s 2-1 loss might still be felt after a successful weekend against the Montreal Canadiens. The Colorado Avalanche brought the Devils back down to earth, and made reality set in for the team.
Hopefully the team wakes up from last game, and moves forward. No time to reflect on the past.
With their fathers accompanying them on the road trip to PNC Arena, the Devils players should get a chance to bond with their elders and step back from their normal routines of focusing on hockey and reenergize the batteries.
Meet the Rico’s! #NJDadsTrip pic.twitter.com/JCKx0hFEUV
— New Jersey Devils (@NHLDevils) December 2, 2015
Jon and his father, Daniel go through the daily routine. Daniel looks like he wants to take the ice! #NJDadsTrip pic.twitter.com/mwbymCw3KJ
— New Jersey Devils (@NHLDevils) December 2, 2015
The Hurricanes are next to last in the Conference and the Metropolitan Division. They have lost their last two games to the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers by a combined score of 8-4.
Carolina has the third-worst goals for average of 2.08, while allow 2.88 goals per game to their opponents. Their special teams is not much better ranking dead-last with the 12.9% success rate with the man-advantage, and kill over 74.5% of their penalties.
The team’s leading scorer patrols Carolina’s blue line. Defenseman Justin Faulk has 18 points this season with eight goals from the back end of the Hurricane’s offense. He has nine power play points (eight of which are goals).
The bad part is that he is a -11 in goal differential, but he is only 23-years-old and has plenty of time in his career to make up that number.
Another young player who will be one to watch for is Victor Rask. On the season, he is three points behind Faulk for the team lead, but has scored a point in four of his past five games. In that time, he has three goals and one assist, while rating a + 4.
In net, Cam Ward has faced the Devils 26 times over his career, going 10-14-2 with a .900 save percentage and 2.72 goals against average.
Eddie Lack has faced New Jersey once and that was as a member of the Vancouver Canucks, which resulted in a loss, while yielding three goals on 26 shots last February.
For the Devils look for the combination of Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri to get on the scoring sheet. Both are riding two-game point streaks in tonight’s game. The two combined for the only Devils goal versus the Avalanche on Tuesday.
Don’t be surprised if we see Cory Schneider in net again. Despite being on the losing end of the Colorado game, he did make 23 saves, many of which were high-quality opportunities.
In seven games versus the Hurricanes, Schneider has dominated Carolina going 4-1-1 with a 1.70 goals against average and .947 save percentage.
All signs point to the Devils winning easily, but it may not be as simple as that. That’s why they play the game.
Look for a spirited matchup despite the records and standings of both teams!
Gameday Tweets:
With the luck from our fathers, @NHLDevils will try and take 2 pts from the Canes tonight. Game starts at 7. pic.twitter.com/STkJFfPpOw
— NJDSk8Guy (@NJDSk8Guy) December 3, 2015
Rise and shine! The #NJDadsTrip rolls through Raleigh and continues at morning skate! pic.twitter.com/4A9bUvx3B2
— New Jersey Devils (@NHLDevils) December 3, 2015
Great seeing all the Dads at morning skate! @NHLDevils pic.twitter.com/LnnD5pkYdz
— Ken Daneyko (@KenDaneykoMSG) December 3, 2015
“I’m just looking for an opportunity and excited to play.” —@eddielack on getting the #Canes start Thursday. pic.twitter.com/VZMplFhSi3
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) December 2, 2015
