The New Jersey Devils will play their second contest of a three-game western Canada road trip tonight against the Edmonton Oilers (also, 11/5 at CGY). Seven of the Devils' next 9 games are against Western Conference teams. The club is 3-1-0 against the Western Conference and is 2-1-0 vs. the Pacific Division in 2017-18.
The Devils are 5-0-0 on the road this season. The Devils are the only team in the NHL without a regulation or OT/SO loss on the road.
In 2016-17, New Jersey was win-less against the Oilers (0-0-2) (Jan. 7 in NJ, 1-2 OT / Jan. 12 @ EDM, 2-3 OT). The Devils last win in Edmonton was during the 2014-15 season (Nov. 21, 2014, 2-0).
Steven Santini and Travis Zajac led the team in scoring with a goal and an assist each in two games against the Oilers last year. Taylor Hall had one assist in his first trip back to Edmonton (Jan. 12, 2017) after being traded to the Devils from the Oilers on June 30, 2016.
Cory Schneider made both starts against the Oilers stopping 72 of 77 shots against (.935 save%).
Schneider is 7-3-2 in his career against Edmonton with a 1.72 GAA and a .935 save%. Goaltender Keith Kinkaid lost his lone start against Edmonton 5-1 (Nov. 15, 2015) stopping 22 of 26 shots that he faced.
INJURIES
• Travis Zajac (IR, torn left pectoral muscle, 11 games missed) is out 4-6 months at time of surgery, August 17, 2017.
• Michael McLeod (IR, torn meniscus in left knee, 11 games missed) suffered Sept. 25, had successful arthroscopic surgery on Oct. 12. Out 4-6 weeks.
• Kyle Palmieri (lower body, 3 games missed) is on I.R. retroactive to October 22, 2017.
Games Lost to Injury/Illness: 42
RED OCTOBER
The Devils closed-out the month of October with an 8-2-0 record. They are currently ranked first in the Metropolitan Division and are second in the Eastern Conference.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Devils are 5-0-0 away from the Prudential Center to start the season, and are the only team that has earned all possible points on the road. This is the club's best start since 2009-10, when they started 9-0-0 on the road.
BUNCHES OF GOALS
Nico Hischier scored the first two goals of his NHL career, Oct. 19 at OTT. At 18 yrs, 288 days old he is the youngest Devils' player to score a goal since Craig Wolanin did so vs. the North Stars on Dec 9, 1985 (18y-135d). He is the fifth-youngest in franchise history.
JOHNNY ROCKET
John Moore scored the game-winning goal in overtime on Oct. 19 at OTT. He now has five OT game-winners with New Jersey, which is the most by any NHL defenseman since 3-on-3 overtime was implemented in the 2015-16 season. He ranks second in OT goals by a defenseman in franchise history behind Hall-of-Famer Scott Niedermayer (8, 1991-2004).
THAT'S OFFENSIVE
After 11 games, the Devils have a total of 40 goals, which ranks ninth-best* in the NHL (tie; CHI, FLA). All teams with more goalsscored than NJ have played at least one more game. In 2016-17, the club had scored just 26 goals after the first 11 contests.
*As of Nov. 2
CHILD'S PLAY
Defenseman Will Butcher leads all NHL rookies with 11 assists and is ranked second* (tie, M. Sergachev - TB) in points. Seven of his 11 helpers have been on the power play.
*As of Nov. 2
On Oct. 14 at NYR, Butcher set an NHL record, becoming the first rookie defenseman in NHL history to have at least eight assists in his first five career games.
On Oct. 19 at OTT, Nico Hischier scored the first two goals of his career and notched an assist for his first three-point night. Hischier has (2G-5A-7PTS) through his first 11 career games.
Jesper Bratt scored the game-deciding goal in the shootout, Oct. 27 vs. OTT, in his first career shootout attempt and notched the game-winner with 4:23 remaining in regulation that next evening against Arizona.
ACTING LIKE A BRATT
Rookie forward Jesper Bratt, New Jersey's sixth-round pick in 2016, set a new franchise record for the most points in the first two games of his NHL career with 3G-2A-5PTS. In addition, he is one of only five NHL players in the last 17 seasons to record five points through his first two games.
• Others were: Radim Vrbata (2001-02), Brent Seabrook (2005-06), Anze Kopitar (2006-07), Vladimir Tarasenko (2012-13)
*credit NHL PR
GETTING GIBBY WITH IT
On Oct. 11 at Toronto, Brian Gibbons scored the first three-on-five shorthanded goal in franchise history. He has two 5G-2A-7PTS over his first 11 games as a Devil. In 66 NHL games between Columbus and Pittsburgh, he had 5 total goals and 17 assists for 22PTS.
Gibbons also scored a shorthanded goal, on a penalty shot, on Oct. 28 vs. ARI. He ranks first in the NHL (tie, E. Kane / A. Barkov) with two shorthanded goals this season.
A BUTCHER'ED PERFORMANCE
Defenseman Will Butcher set a new franchise record for the most points in a Devils' debut. The 22-year-old blueliner made his NHL/Devils debut on Oct. 7 vs. Colorado and recorded three assists (3PTS). Butcher signed a two-year, entry-level contract with New Jersey on August 27 after spending four seasons playing collegiate hockey at University of Denver (NCHC). He was the 2017 Hobey Baker Award winner as college hockey's best player. He captained Denver to the 2017 NCAA Championship.
No comments:
Post a Comment