Game Preview – Game 27: Ottawa Senators @ Your New Jersey Devils!
Ottawa Senators (13-12-3, 29 points) vs New Jersey Devils (13-12-1, 27 points)
7:00 PM EST
TV: MSG Plus 2
Radio: WFAN 660 AM
Matchup:
First of Four against the Senators this season. Last season, the Senators took three of the four from New Jersey.
Devils Get Back on Winning Side:
The New Jersey Devils were finally able to snap a four-game losing streak on Tuesday night against Toronto at Air Canada Centre. The win came with help from the hometown kid, David Clarkson, who netted two goals including the game winner.
The Devils improved to 7-1 in games needing extra time to be decided. The only problem with this record, only two of the seven wins were in actual overtime. With the way records work now, shootout wins will not count in tiebreakers. Five of the seven wins are shootout wins.
Despite being 2-for-2 in their first two powerplays of the game, the Devils had a hard time hanging onto the 2-0 lead. Phil Kessel put the Leafs on the board in the second period, a period which seemed like the Devils had pulled an all-nighter with how sluggish their gameplay was. Matt Frattin tied the game early in the third.
Luckily, Martin Brodeur had one of his better outings of the season, stopping 29 shots. I cannot stress how important it is for Brodeur to have played this game the way he did after being pulled in his last game against Minnesota on December 2. He was pulled just over eight minutes into the game.
Devils Top Line Producing:
Rookie Adam Henrique is currently on a six game point streak (2 goals, 5 assists).
Zach Parise is on a five game point streak (1 goal, 5 assists).
Ilya Kovalchuk is also on a five game point streak (3 goals, 3 assists).
Against the Senators:
All-time the Devils are 43-22-5-1 when playing the Senators and 22-11-2-0 when playing in New Jersey.
Patrik Elias is the all-time leading scorer for the Devils against the Wild with 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 46 games played.
Ilya Kovalchuk, however, has the most career points among active Devils with 38 points (22 goals, 16 assists) in 33 games played.
Eric Boulton has the most career penalty minutes among active Devils with 59 PIM in 28 career games against Ottawa.
Martin Brodeur is 35-22-4 in his career against the Senators with a 2.17 GAA.
Projected Devils Lineup:
Parise – Henrique – Kovalchuk
Tedenby - Elias - Sykora
Zubrus - Carter – Clarkson
Boulton – Sestito – Palmieri
Talinder – Fayne
Salvador – Larsson
Volchenkov – Fraser
Brodeur
Hedberg
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The Latest on the Ottawa Senators:
The Senators appeared to be on a hot streak as they closed out November by winning five of their last seven in the month. December hasn’t been as friendly to them. Currently, they are 1-2-1 in the month.
The Senators are coming off of a 5-3 loss to Washington on Wednesday night, a game in which they had a 2-1 lead, but could not hold off Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Ovechkin, and the rest of the Capitals offense who scored three unanswered to take a 4-2 lead, and held on for the win.
Nick Foligno is currently on a five game point streak which consists of three goals, six points and a plus-five rating during the five-game stretch.
Milan Michalek collected his 17th goal of the season on Wednesday night against the Capitals, putting him into a three-way tie for the league lead ( Jonathan Toews and Phil Kessel also have 17 goals).
Projected Senators Lineup:
Greening – Spezza – Butler
Michalek – Foligno – Alfredsson
Daugavins – Smith – Condra
Konopka – Winchester – Neil
Phillips – Gonchar
Cowen – Karlsson
Lee – Rundblad
Auld
Anderson
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(Source: devilsarmyblog.com)
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