Last night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, New Jersey Devils made sure they took care of business by winning 3-1 over the Montreal Canadiens. The road warrior Devils gained two solid points in the Metropolitan Division standings, while the first place Carolina Hurricanes got shut out by the Vegas Golden Knights 4-0.
Tonight, it will be a showdown between two rivals as the Devils take on the Hurricanes at Prudential Center. The Devils will have the opportunity to tie Carolina for first place in the Metropolitan with a regulation victory. This game could potentially have major playoff seeding implications. And following tonight’s contest, Devils schedule does not get any easier this week.
With five games in the next eight days, Devils will play the reigning Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning three times and the surging Florida Panthers.
We’ll find out a lot about what this new Devils team is made of now that Timo Meier has four games under his belt and Curtis Lazar is finally joining the club after dealing with visa issues.
We’ll know if the Devils will spring ahead next week.
Thoughts and Musings
1. Akira Schmid is looking like a number one goaltender right now for the Devils. Schmid made 23 saves and raised his record to 8-4-1 with a 1.91 GAA along with .927%. What does Lindy Ruff do when Mackenzie Blackwood comes back from injury? I believe he should play the hot goaltender and right now, it is the rookie.
2. Dawson Mercer continues to impress. He is riding a 12 game point streak heater with no end in sight. The chemistry between Mercer, Hischier, and Tatar is invaluable and their relentless pressure throughout the game has carried the Devils as of late and paid off dividends. They have “No Mercy” on their opponents.
3. Timo Meier has played four games as a New Jersey Devil. So far, he has been good but, not great. Devils fans should start to see him flourish this week as he gets in a rhythm with his new line. Should Ruff move Jesper Bratt back with Meier and Jack Hughes? Or should he continue to stick with Jesper Boqvist? Boqvist has been on fire recently and looked great with Erik Haula and Ondrej Palat. We shall see what Ruff does this week.
New Jersey Devils Blogger • 
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