On Friday, the New Jersey Devils will host the San Jose Sharks in the second of their three-game homestand, riding a six-game winning streak.
Related: Devils News & Rumors: Daws & Waivers Rules, Injury Updates, Win Streak
This is the Sharks’ third game of their four-game road trip, but the last on the East Coast before heading to Minnesota to face the Wild. The Sharks earned their first win of the season against the New York Rangers on Thursday.
Devilish storylines
Cody Glass was noticeably absent from the morning skate. During his media presence, head coach Sheldon Keefe said: “He’s going to miss some time; we’re not quite sure the exact period, but it’s not a day-to-day situation.” He last played on Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, recording an assist and 12:19 of ice time. He was a strong center for the bottom six.
Without Glass, Dawson Mercer now centers the third line. When asked about it, Keefe said, “We know he can do it. He was a little hesitant just because that line with Nico went so well for us.” While Mercer may be coy, there’s no denying the line’s success. He recorded two assists against the Wild on Wednesday night, while Paul Cotter scored the first goal of the night.
Although Jacob Markstrom has also been absent for a number of matches, he is working his way towards a return to the crease. He shared the net with Nico Daws during today’s morning skate. According to Amanda Stein“Markstrom will also participate in training tomorrow.
The player to watch in this game is Arseny Gritsyuk. He recorded his first NHL goal against the Wild. With four assists to his name, he now has five points on the season. Now that he is on the right wing next to Timo Meier and Nico Hischier, he will have even more scoring opportunities.
Team stats
Devils from New Jersey
Season record: 6-1-0
Top scorers:
- Jesper Bratt – 4 goals (G), 7 assists (A), 11 points (P)
- Jack Hughes – 6 G, 3 A, 9 P
- Timo Meier – 3 G, 4 A, 7 P
- Dawson Mercer – 3 G, 4 A, 7 P
- Nico Hischier – 2 G, 4 A, 6 P
Goalkeeper statistics:
- Jake Allen – 3-0-0, 1.91 goals-against average (GAA), save percentage (SV%) 0.931
- Jacob Markstrom – 2-1-0, 3.89 GAA, 0.845 SV%
- Nico Daws – 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, 0.968 SV%
San Jose Sharks
Season record: 1-4-2
Top scorers:
- Macklin Celebrini – 5 G, 6 A, 11 P
- Will Smith – 2 G, 6 A, 8 P
- Dmitri Orlov – 0 G, 7 A, 7 P
- William Eklund – 1 G, 4 A, 5 P
- Jeff Skinner – 3 G, 1 A, 4 P
Goalkeeper statistics:
- Alex Nedeljkovic – 1-2-1, 4.00 GAA, 0.875 SV%
- Yaroslav Askarov – 0-2-1, 5.72 GAA, 0.838 SV%
Team formations
(Subject to change before puck drop)
According to The Hockey Writers’ expected lineup article
Devils from New Jersey
Ondrej Palat-Jack Hughes-Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Arseni Gritsyuk
Paul Cotter – Dawson Mercer – Connor Brown
Stefan Noesen – Luke Glendening – Brian Halonen
Luke Hughes-Brett Pesce
Jonas Siegenthaler-Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon — Simon Nemec
Jake Allen
Nico Daws
Scratched: Dennis Chołowski
Injured: Jacob Markstrom, Cody Glass, Marc McLaughlin, Evgenii Dadonov, Zack MacEwen, Johnathan Kovacevic, Juho Lammikko
San Jose Sharks
Tyler Toffoli – Macklin Celebrini – Will Smith
William Eklund – Alex Wennberg – Jeff Skinner
Collin Graf-Philipp Kurashev-Adam Gaudette
Barclay Goodrow-Ty Dellandrea-Ryan Reaves
Mario Ferraro-Vincent Desharnais
Nick Leddy-Vincent Iorio
Dmitri Orlov – Timothy Liljegren
Yaroslav Askarov
Alex Nedeljkovic
Scratched: Sam Dickinson, Michael Misa
Injured: John Klingberg, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Ryan Ellis, Carey Price
Next step for the Devils
The Devils have the day off before hosting the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday, Oct. 26 for a matinee game at 1 p.m. New Jersey will then hit the road for a four-game road trip up the West Coast, their first of the season.
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