New Jersey will wrap up their three-game homestand versus Florida.
The New Jersey Devils will wrap up their first homestand of the 2023-24 campaign when they host the Florida Panthers at Prudential Center Monday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 P.M.
The Devils earned a 1-2-0 record versus Florida last season. Defenseman John Marino enters tonight's contest with two points in his previous two games versus the Panthers, while Nathan Bastian has earned two goals in two career games versus tonight's opponent.
Devils vs. Panthers - Prudential Center
The Devils are looking to get back into the win column after suffering a shootout loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Friday night. Sluggish starts have been a theme over the past two games. The team is looking to rectify that immediately, especially against a desperate Florida team looking for their first win of the season.
"Our last couple of games, we've started the game (and) haven't been very good defensively and tightened it up the last half of the game," said Ruff. "We need to start the game the way we finish it."
- Florida's injury report includes Aaron Ekblad (shoulder), Brandon Montour (shoulder), and Sam Bennett (unknown).
- The Panthers record to start the season is 0-2-0. The club is coming off a 6-4 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, where Evan Rodrigues collected four points.
- Sergei Bobrovsky is 19-6-1 in 27 games with a goals-against average of 2.41 and a save percentage of .921 versus the Devils in his career. His three shutouts are tied for the most versus any team.
- After the Devils' morning skate, head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed that Tomas Nosek will miss tonight's game with a lower-body injury.
- Jack Hughes leads his team with five points in two games. Per the media notes, The most points a player earned in the team's first three games of a season for franchise history is six.
- Tonight, fans will get their first glimpse of a top line that consists of Timo Meier - Nico Hischier - Ondrej Palat.
Projected Lineup
New Jersey:
Tyler Toffoli - Jack Hughes - Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier - Nico Hischier - Ondrej Palat
Dawson Mercer - Erik Haula -Alexander Holtz
Curtis Lazar - Michael McLeod - Nathan Bastian
Jonas Siegenthaler - Dougie Hamilton
Kevin Bahl - John Marino
Luke Hughes - Brendan Smith
Vitek Vanecek
Akira Schmid
*The Devils held an optional skate on Monday morning. Participants included: J. Hughes, Bratt, Hischier, Palat, Meier, McLeod, Lazar, Holtz, Bastian, Tierney, Mercer, Siegenthaler, Hamilton, L. Hughes, Bahl, Smith, Miller, Vanecek, Schmid, and Kinkaid.
Florida:
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Evan Rodrigues
Mackie Samoskevich – Eetu Luostarinen – Matthew Tkachuk
Nick Cousins – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Ryan Lomberg – Kevin Stenlund – Steven Lorenz
Gus Forsling – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov
Josh Mahura – Uvis Balinskis
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be broadcast on MSGSN. Bill Spaulding will handle play-by-play alongside analyst Ken Daneyko and host Erika Wachter. Fans can also listen on the Devils Hockey Network.
Player to Watch: Nico Hischier
The team's young captain has been quiet through the season's first two games. After Sunday's practice, Ruff said he added Palat to Hischier's line in favor of Mercer, hoping to " get a little more offense out of Nico's line."
Last season, there was bad blood between Hischier and the Panthers after the Swiss center made contact with Aleksander Barkov's left leg during a faceoff. The incident resulted in Florida's captain missing three games.
"I don't think Nico is a dirty player," Barkov said. "Of course, I don't think it was intentional or anything. It was a battle situation, and I don't think he wanted to injure me. It happens in hockey, but everyone is over it now."
The incident led to Hischier becoming a target, and when the two clubs faced each other a week later, Matthew Tkachuk was ejected from the game for going after New Jersey's captain.