The New Jersey Devils host the Detroit Red Wings tonight to try and remain in first place in a tough Metropolitan Division.
- New Jersey Devils (21-9-5)
- Detroit Red Wings (13-15-7)
- TV Broadcast:MSG+2
- Prudential Center Newark, NJ
- 7 p.m. ET
The New Jersey Devils come back from Christmas break looking to pick up where they left off at the end of their last homestand.
The Devils enter this one on a four-game winning streak, all at home. The Red Wings went into their break 2-3 in the last five which has been indicative of how their season has gone thus far. They must take advantage tonight of one of the weaker teams in the NHL.
Active/Inactive
The Devils had a full morning skate today and got some good news. Both Kyle Palmieri and Brian Boyle were taken out of the last game against the Blackhawks for precautionary reasons. Both players will be in the lineup tonight.
#NJDevils Palmieri and Boyle will both play tonight.
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) December 27, 2017
And here are the lines for tonight’s game.
#NJDevils vs DET:
Hall-Hischier-Bratt
Johansson-Zajac-Palmieri
Coleman-Boyle-Gibbons
Wood-Zacha-NoesenGreene-Santini
Moore-Vatanen
Butcher-SeversonSchneider
Extras:
Prout-Lovejoy
Hayes, Stafford— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) December 27, 2017
Below are the lines that the Red Wings will use tonight at the rock.
#RedWings in practice:
Mantha-Zetterberg-Nyquist
Tatar-Larkin-Abdelkader
Bertuzzi-Nielsen-Helm
Frk-Athanasiou-BoothEricsson-Daley
DeKeyser-Green
Kronwall-Jensen
Ouellet-Witkowski— Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) December 22, 2017
The Devils released a great sigh of relief Christmas Day when they found out that both Palmieri and Boyle are healthy. That is helpful for a team that hasn’t been able to stay healthy all season.
The Red Wings come in with a younger lineup but they are basically in a rebuilding year. It is unlikely that they make a run in the second half of the season, but there are not easy games in today’s NHL. The Devils still need to take care of business night in, and night out regardless of the matchup.
As for the goaltenders, Cory Schneider will be between the pipes for the Devils and although there hasn’t been any confirmation yet, but it appears Jimmy Howard will be in goal tonight.
The Devils enter tonight’s game 6-3-1 in their last ten games, and four in a row. One of their hottest stretches this season. Detroit comes in on the opposite end of the spectrum coming in at 3-5-2 and are 9 points out of a playoff spot.
