The New Jersey Devils hit the road today to take on the Boston Bruins.
The Devils are 16-11-1 while the Bruins are 16-13-0.
What to Know – Devils
The Devils are kicking off their two-game road trip today in Boston, after playing four straight games at home. Not only have the Devils dropped their last four games, but they have also been shut out for two games, having gone 128 minutes and 9 seconds without scoring.
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These results have pushed the Devils out of a playoff spot. A win today would put them back in contention.
What to Know – Bruins
The Bruins, on the other hand, are coming off a win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, but have struggled as of late without David Pastrnak.
They have won five of their last 10 games, thanks to strong offensive performances. Specifically, forward Morgan Geekie has had an incredible start to the season. Geekie has 21 goals so far this season, ranking second in the NHL for goals, trailing only Nathan MacKinnon.
The Bruins currently sit atop the Atlantic Division and are heading into the matchup with a strong home record of 10-5-0.
Lineup Changes
The Devils have made several lineup changes. Angus Crookshank made his season debut with the Devils last night. Crookshank had just over ten minutes of ice time during the Devils’ 3-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Lineups
Jacob Markstrom started last night, so Jake Allen will likely play for the Devils today.
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Jeremy Swayman starts in the net for the Bruins. He last played on Tuesday, when he saved 18 of 23 shots he faced.
The projected Bruins lineup is:
Steeves-Lindholm-Geekie
Mittelstadt-Zacha-Arvidsson
Jeannot-Minten-Kastelic
Khusnutdinov-Kuraly-Eyssimont
Zadorov-Aspirot
Lindholm-Peeke
Lohrei-Soderstrom
Injuries
Both teams have injury struggles. The Devils lack center Jack Hughes, hampering their offense. The full injury list is below.
Devils: J. Hughes (finger), Pesce (upper body), Dadonov (undisclosed), Kovacevic (knee), MacEwen (undisclosed), McLaughlin (undisclosed)
The Bruins are also missing star players. David Pastrnak has missed time with an unknown injury, as has Charlie McAvoy, who suffered a facial injury.
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Bruins: Pastrnak (unknown), Callahan (lower-body), Jokiharju (undisclosed), McAvoy (face), Blumel (lower-body)
Overall
This is the first meeting of the two teams this season. They will meet again on March 16 and again on April 14.
The puck will drop at 7 PM at TD Garden.
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