The New Jersey Devils are already back on the ice on Sunday, Nov. 2, to take on the Anaheim Ducks. The Devils just played the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, Nov. 1, and beat them 4-1. Just 23 hours later, they are making their way to the last stop on their West Coast road trip, the Honda Center.
Related: Luke Hughes Records 100th NHL Point
The Ducks last played on Halloween, hosting the Detroit Red Wings. Anaheim won 5-2 to kick off their homestand.
Devils Storylines
In the first half of the back-to-back, the Devils started Jacob Markstrom. He recorded his third win of the season with a save percentage (SV%) of .977 by only allowing one goal from the Kings and making 43 saves. He put out the strong goaltender showing that one has come to associate him with, and that’s the reason he recently received a two-year contract extension. After that strong performance, fans should forget about his rough return against the Colorado Avalanche.
With the second half of a back-to-back, Jake Allen is the likely goaltender in this matchup with the Ducks. Allen is also coming off of a tough loss from Thursday, Oct. 30, when the Devils fell 5-2 to the San Jose Sharks. However, this game marked his first loss of the season. Allen has recorded five other wins prior to this loss. Everyone has off days, and there is no need to panic. The Devils will be in a strong position with Allen in the net against the Ducks.
While it wasn’t clear if Connor Brown would make the lineup last night against the Kings, he was eventually ruled out with a day-to-day injury. There has been no update on his injury and whether or not he will be in for this game. With such a quick turnaround time between the two games, it seems unlikely that he will play. We will know more for sure when the lines are officially announced.
The player to watch in this game is Luke Hughes. With his assist on Nico Hischier’s first goal of the game, Hughes recorded his 100th NHL point. He’s had a strong start to the season, recording seven total assists in the first 12 games for the Devils. He has yet to score his first goal, but that could change at any given game.
Team Stats
New Jersey Devils
Season Record: 9-3-0
Top Scorers:
- Jack Hughes – 9 goals (G), 6 assists (A), 15 points (P)
- Dawson Mercer – 8 G, 5 A, 13 P
- Jesper Bratt – 4 G, 9 A, 13 P
- Nico Hischier – 3 G, 8 A, 11 P
- Timo Meier – 3 G, 6 A, 9 P
Goalie Stats:
- Jake Allen – 5-1-0, 2.39 goals-against average (GAA), .906 SV%
- Jacob Markstrom – 3-2-0, 4.17 GAA, .875 SV%
- Nico Daws – 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .968 SV%
Anaheim Ducks
Season Record: 6-3-1
Top Scorers:
- Leo Carlsson – 5 G, 10 A, 15 P
- Troy Terry – 5 G, 8 A, 13 P
- Cutter Gauthier – 6 G, 4 A, 10 P
- Mikael Granlund – 2 G, 6 A, 8 P
- Mason McTavish – 2 G, 6 A, 8 P
Goalie Stats:
- Lukas Dostal – 4-3-1, 2.74 GAA, .909 SV%
- Petr Mrazek – 2-0-0, 5.52 GAA, .831 SV%
Projected LineupsÂ
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
New Jersey Devils
Stefan Noesen — Jack Hughes — Jesper Bratt
Ondrej Palat — Nico Hischier — Arseni Gritsyuk
Timo Meier — Juho Lammikko — Dawson Mercer
Paul Cotter — Luke Glendening — Brian Halonen
Jonas Siegenthaler — Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon — Luke Hughes
Dennis Cholowski — Simon Nemec
Jake Allen
Jacob Markstrom
Scratched: Seamus Casey
Injured: Connor Brown, Brett Pesce, Cody Glass, Marc McLaughlin, Evgenii Dadonov, Zack MacEwen, Johnathan Kovacevic
Anaheim Ducks
Chris Kreider — Leo Carlsson — Troy Terry
Cutter Gauthier — Mason McTavish — Beckett Sennecke
Nikita Nesterenko — Ryan Poehling — Alex Killorn
Ross Johnston — Sam Colangelo — Frank Vatrano
Jackson LaCombe — Drew Helleson
Olen Zellweger — Jacob Trouba
Pavel Mintyukov — Ian Moore
Lukas Dostal
Petr Mrazek
Scratched: Radko Gudas, Jansen Harkins
Injured: Ryan Strome, Mikael Granlund
Next Up for the Devils
The Devils will head back to New Jersey to kick off a three-game homestand. It begins on Thursday, Nov. 6, when they host the Montreal Canadiens.
