Vegas Golden Knights at New Jersey: Date, Time, TV, More
After achieving a first on Monday, can the Vegas Golden Knights win both games of a back-to-back for the first time this season in New Jersey on Tuesday?
After beating the New York Rangers on Monday to rack up three consecutive wins for the very first time in 2019-20, the Vegas Golden Knights could win both games of a back-to-back for the first time this year if they beat the Devils tonight.
The Golden Knights (14-11-4) have played two sets of back-to-backs so far this season, without much success, and they have a real opportunity to win a fourth straight game.
It has been an awful season for the New Jersey Devils (9-13-4) so far, who have rapidly transformed into the Cleveland Browns of the NHL.
Because, after stockpiling a plethora of talent during the off-season, the Devils were many people’s pick to challenge for a playoff spot this season.
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After all, they’ve got the No.1 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in Jack Hughes, in addition to 2017-18 Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall and P.K. Subban on the blueline.
And, of course, let’s not forget that they also traded for Nikita Gusev from the Golden Knights, which didn’t go down well with the Vegas fanbase.
However, things have flown off the rails quickly and the Devils find themselves bottom of the Metro Division.
Hall is now on the trade block according to reports, and there could be further changes on the horizon with the Devils having lost five of their last seven outings, including dropping an ugly 7-1 decision to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday.
(*Editor’s Note: The New Jersey Devils fired Head Coach John Haynes and named Alain Nasreddine Interim Head Coach after this article was published).
So, it is fair to assume that the pressure is firmly on the Devils heading into tonight and that could make them a dangerous beast to contend with.
New Jersey is led in points by Hall who has 21 (four goals, 17 assists), while Gusev is finding his feet in North America with five goals and seven assists for 12 points.
The Devils are ranked low in most main categories in the NHL, including in Goals Against Per Game (30th), Goals For Per Game (29th), on the power play (28th) and on the penalty kill (23rd).
They have also struggled with goaltending having sent franchise goalie Corey Schneider down to the AHL, while Mackenzie Blackwood is 8-7-3 with a 3.12 Goals Against Average and a .898 Save Percentage, and Louis Domingue is 1-2-0 with a 3.46 GAA and a .870 Sv%.
Domingue got the start against Buffalo last night but was pulled after allowing five goals on 15 shots, and Blackwood is expected to get the start against the Knights.
Jack Hughes, who has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in his rookie year, has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury and is questionable for tonight, as is defenseman Connor Carrick (upper-body).
And here’s a strange fact for you before we move on, despite losing 7-1 last night and allowing five goals in the first period of a game since 1993, the Devils still recorded 45 shots on goal which is just incredible and probably tells you a lot about their struggles.
For the Vegas Golden Knights, tonight will all be about doing what they have done in the last three games and riding the momentum.
Malcolm Subban has started the last four games so Garret Sparks could get the start tonight with Marc-Andre Fleury away from the team.
And there could be a Vegas debut for center Chandler Stephenson tonight, who was acquired in a trade with the Washington Capitals on Monday.
With Cody Eakin currently week-to-week with an upper-body injury and Nicolas Roy having been sent down to the AHL, Stephenson should slot in as the team’s bottom line center.
The Knights had their special teams to thank after beating the New York Rangers on Monday, and they have the 7th best power play (22.8) in the NHL, and the 4th best penalty kill (85.6).
This Season
Tonight’s game is the first of two meetings between the Vegas Golden Knights and the New Jersey Devils this season – with the two teams set to meet again on Mar, 3.
The Golden Knights are 2-1-1 all-time against the Devils, being outscored 13-17 by their opponents from New Jersey.
Projected Lineups
Let’s look at the projected lineups for both teams tonight, per nhl.com:
Vegas Golden Knights
Jonathan Marchessault – William Karlsson – Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty – Paul Stastny – Mark Stone
William Carrier – Cody Glass – Alex Tuch
Tomas Nosek – Chandler Stephenson – Ryan Reaves
Jon Merrill – Deryk Engelland
Garret Sparks
Malcolm Subban
Scratched: Nick Holden, Marc-Andre Fleury
Injured: Cody Eakin (upper body)
New Jersey Devils
Jesper Boqvist – Nico Hischier – Kyle Palmieri
Blake Coleman – Travis Zajac – Nikita Gusev
Taylor Hall – Pavel Zacha – Jesper Bratt
Miles Wood – Kevin Rooney – Wayne Simmonds
Sami Vatanen – P.K. Subban
Mackenzie Blackwood
Louis Domingue
Scratched: Mirco Mueller, John Hayden
Injured: Connor Carrick (finger), Jack Hughes (lower body)
Game Info
Here is all the essential information you need to know prior to faceoff…
Time: 4:00 p.m. PT
Where: Prudential Center – New Jersey
TV Broadcast: AT&T Sportsnet
Radio: FOX Sports 98.9/1340
Live Streaming: ESPN+ has a free 7-day trial that includes live streaming for this game on all your smart devices! Besides NHL games, ESPN+ features a selection of live games from MLB, MLS, Serie A, FA Cup, and EFL. Get in on the action with Live UFC Fight Nights, 30+ Top Rank Boxing cards, Grand Slam tennis from Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open.
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Finishing Off
The Vegas Golden Knights will go in search of their fourth consecutive win tonight, which would be a season-high, but they can’t afford to take the struggling New Jersey Devils lightly.
After tonight, the Golden Knights will have Wednesday off before finishing this road trip against the New York Islanders on Thursday.