The New Jersey Devils (29-29-2) take on the Florida Panthers (30-27-3) at the Prudential Center tonight.
Lineups and Injuries
Devils projected lineup per NHL.com
Timo Meier -- Nico Hischier -- Dawson Mercer
Arseny Gritsyuk -- Jack Hughes -- Connor Brown
Jesper Bratt -- Cody Glass -- Lenni Hameenaho
Paul Cotter -- Nick Bjugstad -- Maxim Tsyplakov
Luke Hughes -- Brett Pesce
Jonas Siegenthaler -- Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon -- Simon Nemec
Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen
Scratched: Evgenii Dadonov, Luke Glendening, Colton White, Johnathan Kovacevic
Injured: Stefan Noesen (knee), Zack MacEwen (ACL)
Panthers projected lineup per NHL.com
Eetu Luostarinen -- Anton Lundell -- Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe -- Evan Rodrigues -- Brad Marchand
Mackie Samoskevich -- Sam Bennett -- Matthew Tkachuk
Sandis Vilmanis -- Tomas Nosek -- A.J. Greer
Gustav Forsling -- Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola -- Uvis Balinskis
Tobias Bjornfot -- Dmitry Kulikov
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
Scratched: Jeff Petry, Donovan Sebrango, Jesper Boqvist
Injured: Seth Jones (collarbone), Aleksander Barkov (knee), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), Cole Schwindt (lower body)
Storyline to Watch
The storyline to watch is that the Devils are 19-5-1 when they score first. The two teams are facing off for the final matchup of the season tonight.
This is the third time they have met, the second time at the Prudential Center. As of now, each team has won one game. Head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke about the matchup with NJD.tv.
“They’re going to play very hard, they’re going to compete hard, they’re going to forecheck you more than anybody in the league," Keefe said. "They’re going to make it incredibly hard to get through the neutral zone and attack on the rush at the blue line."
Player to Watch
Nick Bjugstad is the player to watch as he will suit up for his 800th game tonight.
Bjugstad began his career with the Florida Panthers and will face them again tonight. Ahead of the game, he spoke with NJD.tv about his feelings towards the milestone game.
“It feels like it’s been a 1,000 for me, but it’s only been 800,” he said with a smile. “I still enjoy it, still enjoy playing. I’m so fortunate to be playing in the NHL.”
The puck will drop at 7 PM.
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