Devils Seeking to Snap Nine-Year Streak vs. Predators

Despite the work that New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald put in this summer, the talk of the offseason was Barry Trotz and the Nashville Predators. That’s because Trotz was able to reel in three of the top free agents to Smashville, completely changing the dynamic of their team—at least on paper. Hosting the very team who was viewed to have the best offseason of all 32 NHL franchises, the Devils are looking to snap a nine-season streak they’ve accrued against the Predators.

For whatever reason, the Devils struggle against the Predators on home ice. Dating back to the 2015-16 season, New Jersey has not beaten the Predators at the Prudential Center, losing eight games in that span. For some perspective, the Devils have scored 17 goals in the eight games, as opposed to their 29.

The Devils and Predators only meet twice a year, one on home ice and one in Nashville. Therefore, you can fathom how this streak wound up extending this long.

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However, the Devils are hoping things are different this season.

The Predators have completely fell on their faces out of the gate. The signings of Steven Stamkos, Johnathan Marchessault, and Brady Skeji haven’t quite given the Predators the killer instinct they had hoped they would. In fact, it’s done quite the opposite.

Nashville ranks 29th in the NHL with a 7-11-3 record (17 points), which also lands them seventh in the Central Division. In their last 10 games, they’re 3-5-2. On the road in that same span, the Predators are 1-6-0 and have allowed a gruesome 23 goals against.

In other words, they’ve been a brutal team, especially on the road.

Things have been trending in a much different direction for the Devils of late. Wins at home were tough to come by earlier in the season. Thus far in November, they’ve only played on home ice twice, a win vs. the Montreal Canadiens and a loss against the San Jose Sharks.

Overall, however, the Devils have begun to gel nicely, winning their last two games and are 7-3-0 in their last 10 contests.

New Jersey has largely been boosted by the play of Jesper Bratt, Stefan Noesen, and Jack Hughes, who are all finding the scoresheet regularly.

As the two teams trend in different directions, the Devils—who need to string together consistent wins—are hoping to snap the nine-year losing streak on home ice to Nashville.

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