Devils Game Preview vs. Oilers: Game Notes, How to Watch, Projected Lines, & More

Head coach Lindy Ruff had to call out franchise forward Jack Hughes following the last New Jersey Devils game, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.

The Devils coach pulled his punches a little, however, claiming that Hughes’ style of play calls for taking some risk which we saw result in two costly turnovers on Tuesday. With Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers in town, we’re looking at Hughes to have a bounce-back performance, raising his game while hosting the NHL’s best player.

Let’s dive into tonight’s Devils game with the Oilers.

How to Watch

Time: 07:30 PM      Watch/Stream: ESPN+/HULU      Listen: DEVILS HOCKEY NET

Projected Devils Lineup

Forwards

Erik Haula – Jack Hughes – Tyler Toffoli

Ondrej Palat – Nico Hischier – Jesper Bratt

Timo Meier – Dawson Mercer – Alexander Holtz

Curtis Lazar – Michael McLeod – Nathan Bastian

Defensemen

Jonas Siegenthaler – Simon Nemec

Kevin Bahl – John Marino

Brendan Smith – Luke Hughes

Goaltenders

Akira Schmid

Vitek Vanecek

Projected Oilers Lineup

Forwards

Evander Kane – Connor McDavid – Zach Hyman

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Leon Draisaitl – Warren Foegele

Mattias Janmark – Ryan McLeod – Connor Brown

Adam Erne – James Hamblin – Sam Gagner

Defensemen

Darnell Nurse – Cody Ceci

Mattias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard

Brett Kulak – Vincent Desharnais

Goaltenders

Calvin Pickard

Stuart Skinner

Last Game

The Devils faced the Philadelphia Flyers last time out in a matchup that they unfortunately gave away. After committing numerous giveaways, the Philly defeated New Jersey 3-2 in overtime. Owen Tippett scored the game-winning goal, forcing a turnover after Jack Hughes carelessly attempted a drop pass that Tippett intercepted. Earlier, Hughes had another pass intercepted by Ryan Poehling who also scored on Jack’s error. Poehling later added a second goal on a giveaway by Brendan Smith. Michael McLeod and Jesper Bratt each scored for the Devils in the loss. Vitek Vanecek made 23 saves in the loss.

Player to Watch

Following a tough outing against the Philadelphia Flyers, Jack Hughes is looking to rebound against Connor McDavid and the Oilers. Hughes is averaging 1.52 points, per game, which sits behind N. Kucherov (1.69), and is tied with C. McDavid (1.52) for second in the NHL. Per NHL PR, Hughes is “one shy from becoming the second player in Devils/Scouts/Rockies history to record 60 assists in a calendar year. The only other to do so is Kirk Muller (61 in 1990).”

Devils vs. Oilers

According to the Devils PR, “The Devils and Edmonton conclude their 2023-24 regular-season series, after the Devils dropped a 4-1 loss at Edmonton on Dec. 10.

ALL-TIME vs EDM

Record: 37-37-9-5
Home: 21-18-3-3
Road: 16-19-6-2

SINCE 1982-83…

The most goals that the Devils earned in a single game vs Edmonton is eight, which was logged on Nov. 25, 1987, at Edmonton in an 8-7.

The most goals that the team allowed in a game in a game vs Edmonton is 13, which was logged on Nov. 19, 1983, after a 13-4 loss at Edmonton.

The most shots that Jersey earned in a single game vs Edmonton is 43, which was earned on Nov. 3rd, 2022, in a 4-3 win at Edmonton.

The most shots that the Devils allowed in a single game against the Oilers is 47, which was logged on Dec. 17, 1982, in a 10-4 loss at Edmonton.

The last time that the Devils shut out Edmonton was Nov. 21, 2014, after a 2-0 win at Edmonton (C. Schneider, 29 saves).

The last time that the Oilers shut out New Jersey was on Nov. 8, 2019, after a 4-0 loss at Edmonton (M. Koskinen, 29 saves).

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Sat. Dec. 23, vs DET, 7:00 P.M. E.T.
Wed. Dec. 27, vs CBJ, 7:00 P.M. E.T.
Fri. Dec. 29, at OTT, 7:00 P.M. E.T.
Sat. Dec. 30, at BOS, 7:00 P.M. E.T.

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