New Jersey plays their first game of the 2023-24 season versus the Detroit Red Wings at Prudential Center.
The New Jersey Devils will open the 2023-24 campaign Thursday night at Prudential Center when they host Dylan Larkin and the Detroit Red Wings at 7:30 P.M. This is the third time since the 1982-83 season that New Jersey opened a regular season vs Detroit. The Devils earned a 2-1-0 record versus the Red Wings last season, winning both games on the road.
Devils vs. Red Wings - Prudential Center
- Tyler Toffoli and Tomas Nosek are expected to make their Devils debut tonight after being acquired this summer. The latter made his NHL debut as a member of the Red Wings and played 17 games with Detroit to start his career.
- New Jersey's Dawson Mercer and Detroit's Moritz Seider have each appeared in every game in the past two seasons since making their NHL debut. Tonight, they'll play in their respective 165th consecutive games.
- Vitek Vanecek has a record of 2-1-1 in four games with a goals against average of 2.74 and a save percentage of .892 versus the Red Wings in his career.
Fan Fest Information: The BMW Red Carpet Player Arrivals will begin at 4:00 p.m. The organization will host their first fan fest of the season, including live entertainment, appearances from team alums, and N.J. Devil. All fans in attendance will receive a commemorative team poster.
Projected Lineup
New Jersey:
Tyler Toffoli - Jack Hughes - Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier - Nico Hischier - Dawson Mercer
Ondrej Palat - Erik Haula -Alexander Holtz
Tomas Nosek - Michael McLeod - Curtis Lazar/Nathan Bastian
Jonas Siegenthaler - Dougie Hamilton
Kevin Bahl - John Marino
Luke Hughes - Brendan Smith
Vitek Vanecek
Akira Schmid
Detroit:
Alex DeBrincat - Dylan Larkin - David Perron
Robby Fabbri - J.T. Compher - Lucas Raymond
Daniel Sprong - Andrew Copp - Michael Rasmussen
Klim Kostin - Joe Veleno - Christian Fischer
Jake Walman -Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot - Jeff Petry
Shayne Gostisbehere - Olli Maatta/Justin Holl
Ville Husso
Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Hulu. Mike Monaco will handle play-by-play alongside analyst Kevin Weekes and reporter Emily Kaplan. Fans can also listen on the Devils Hockey Network.
Player to Watch: Dougie Hamilton
The defenseman is coming off a season where he earned a career-high 74 points (22 goals, 52 assists) last season. His 22 goals tied the franchise record for the most goals earned by a defenseman in a single season (B. Beck, 1977-78, CLR).
Hamilton has scored a goal in both home openers with the Devils and has earned at least a point in every home opener he's played in since 2017. The defenseman has collected 24 points (six goals, 18 assists) versus Detroit in 32 games.