The Devils continue their road trip in Minnesota, where they’ll take on the Wild for the second time this season.
The New Jersey Devils’ second stop of their road trip will be Minnesota, to face a dangerous Wild team. This will be the second time in just over a week that the Devils face Minnesota.
Last Wednesday, they put up an impressive fight, but ultimately lost 3-2 in a shootout at the Prudential Center. The Devils enter this game having lost an ugly one to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
Taking on the Wild in their home arena could be an even more difficult task. The Wild are on an impressive four-game winning streak, are one of the best teams in the league, and just keep getting better.
The Devils’ offense has been improving, but can’t even be compared to Minnesota’s, which is arguably the best in the league.
Surprisingly, however, Minnesota’s power play has been below-average. But, again, nowhere near as weak as New Jersey’s, which is the second-worst in the league.
Both defenses and penalty kills hover around league-average, with Minnesota’s being a bit better. The Devils only have the Wild beat in terms of goaltending: New Jersey’s is about average while the Wild haven’t been great, in that regard.
However, lately, the Wild have given up fewer goals than the Devils, so that’s something to keep an eye on.
The Devils are the surefire underdogs in this one, but this team is resilient, as their first game against the Wild indicated. Let’s see if this game will mark their first win of this roadtrip.
Wild players to watch:
LW Kirill Kaprizov
Last 5 GP: 2 G, 8 PTS
This season: 22 GP, 7 G, 25 PTS
C Ryan Hartman
Last 5 GP: 3 G, 5 PTS
C Victor Rask
Last 5 GP: 2 G, 6 PTS
Devils players to watch:
RW Jesper Bratt
Last 5 GP: 2 G, 7 PTS
This season: 20 GP, 6 G, 18 PTS
LW Andreas Johnsson
Last 5 GP: 3 G, 7 PTS
This season: 20 GP, 9 G, 18 PTS
RHD P.K. Subban
Career vs. MIN: 22 GP, 8 G, 21 PTS
