Game Preview: Devils Visit Islanders in First Road Game

Ilya Sorokin and the New York Islanders (2-0-0) sailed to their second victory in a 1-0 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday. The New Jersey Devils (1-1-1) hope to get on track tonight when they face the lossless Islanders in their barn at UBS Arena. After Lindy Ruff shook things up in the forward group again, let’s dive into what’s ahead in Friday night’s Metropolitan Division matchup when the Devils visit the Islanders.

Time: 7:30 PM      Watch: MSG/MSGN/MSG+      Listen: DEVILS HOCKEY NET

Projected Devils Lineup

Ondrej Palat-Nico Hischier-Jesper Bratt

Tyler Toffoli-Jack Hughes-Timo Meier

Dawson Mercer-Michael McLeod-Alexander Holtz

Chris Tierney-Curtis Lazar-Nathan Bastian

Jonas Siegenthaler-Dougie Hamilton

Kevin Bahl-John Marino

Luke Hughes-Brendan Smith

Akira Schmid

Vitek Vanecek

Projected Islanders Lineup

MathewBarzal-Bo Horvat-Simon Holmstrom

Pierre Engvall-Brock Nelson-Kyle Palmieri

Anders Lee-JG Pageau-Hudson Fasching

Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Cal Clutterbuck

Adam Pelech-Noah Dobson

Alexander Romanov-Ryan Pulock

Samuel Bolduc-Sebastian Aho

Ilya Sorokin

Semyon Varlamov

Last Game

After another slow start put the Devils behind 2-0 after the first period, things went from bad to worse by the end of the game. The Panthers dominated the Devils as New Jersey came out flat-footed through the first 40 minutes. A pair of goals from Sam Reinhart in addition to single tallies from Carter Verhaeghe and Nikko Mikkola put New Jersey behind by four after the second frame. The Devils attempted to mount a comeback in the third period, however, were forced to do so without Timo Meier, John Marino, and Curtis Lazar who were all benched as a result of Ruff’s frustrations.

Jesper Bratt and Erik Haula converted on the power play and Michael McLeod scored at even strength to bring the Devils within one goal. However, the clock ran out before New Jersey could complete the comeback. Vitek Vanecek made 26 saves on 30 shots. Sergei Bobrovsky secured the win in a 31-save performance.

Player to Watch

Not quite a player as we’re going with the head coach in tonight’s contest. Lindy Ruff is sitting on 99 wins as the head coach of the Devils. A win tonight will mark his 100th win as the bench boss of New Jersey. After making some decisive calls in their last game, putting the Devils through a bag skate on Tuesday, and restructuring New Jersey’s top-six, capturing win No.100 tonight feels like a full-circle moment.

Devils vs. Islanders

According to Devils PR, “The Devils and Islanders face off for the first of four matchups this season:

Nov. 28 vs NYI, 7:00 P.M.
Mar. 24 at NYI, 5:00 P.M.
Apr. 15 vs NYI, 7:00 P.M.

New Jersey logged a 1-2-0 record vs the Isles in 2022-23.

ALL-TIME vs NYI

Record: 95-131-22-16
Home: 56-53-11-10
Road: 39-78-11-6

Did You Know?

The most goals in franchise history earned in a single game vs New York is nine goals, which was earned in a 9-7 win on Apr. 6, 1986, at New Jersey.

The most goals that the franchise allowed in a single game vs New York is nine (4 times), which was last logged on Mar. 17, 1983, in a 9-5 loss at New Jersey.

The most shots that Jersey earned in a single game vs the Isles is 57, which was recorded on Apr., 12, 1999, in a 4-2 loss at New Jersey.

The most shots that the franchise allowed in a single game vs New York is 51, which was logged on Feb., 22, 1977, in a 2-1 loss at
New York (CLR).

The last time that the Devils shut out New York was on Nov. 11, 2021, in a 3-0 win at the Rock (M. Blackwood, 37 saves)

The last time New York shut out the Devils was on Nov. 3rd, 2018, after a 3-0 loss at the Isles.

The Devils and Isles met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs once, which was in the 1987-88 Division Semi-Finals (Round 1). New Jersey eliminated the Isles in six games.”

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Tue., Oct. 24, at MTL, 7:15 P.M.
Wed. Oct. 25, vs WSH, 7:30 P.M.
Fri. Oct. 27, vs BUF, 7:00 P.M.
Sun. Oct. 29, vs MIN, 5:00 P.M.

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