Good afternoon Devils fans. The Devils (3-2-1) take on the Buffalo Sabres (3-4-0) on the road. The puck drops at 7 at the Rock. Here are the projected lines from the Devils and Sabres:

Devils Lines (Per Amanda Stein, 10/27 Practice):

Toffoli-J. Hughes-Meier
Palat-Hischier-Bratt
Haula-Mercer-Lazar
Holtz-Mcleod-Bastian

Sieganthaler-Hamilton
Bahl-Marino
Smith-L. Hughes

Vanacek
Schmid

Injuries: Nosek, Miller

Sabres Lines (Per Daily Faceoff):

Greenway-Thompson-Cozens
Skinner-Middelstadt-Tuch
Peterka-Krebbs-Jost
Olofsson-Girgensons-Okposo

Dahlin-Samuelsson
Power-Jokiharju
Clifton-Johnson

Comrie
Luukkonen

Injuries: Levi

3 Keys to Today’s Game:

1. New Lines, Old Problems

After the frustrating loss to the Caps, the Devils have a slightly tweaked offense with line changes, courtesy of HC Lindy Ruff. Notably, Curtis Lazar was promoted to 3rd, Alexander Holtz dropped to 4th, and the positions of Erik Haula and Dawson Mercer have switched. No changes have been made to the defense, which one would say has easily been much more problematic this season so far compared to its offensive counterparts. Also, Ondrej Palat remains in a top 6 position, which frankly I don’t agree with. If you truly want to get the most out of Holtz’s development whether for the team’s benefit or a later trade value, putting him in the bottom 6 minutes won’t help. Also, I haven’t really loved Palat’s play this year as well. Holtz is starting to find his feet at the NHL level and showing improvement. Also, If you were to demote a 3rd line player to 4th, it should be Mercer this year in lieu of Holtz. On the subject of defense, I would make the argument that Luke Hughes should be promoted to the 2nd pair and have Kevin Bahl moved down to help the 3rd pair stop the bleeding in their own zone.

2. Realistic Goals

While the Sabres have been far from perfect this season so far, they can still scratch out wins. We need to simplify our game and focus solely on possession. The defense will have to do everything they can to isolate assist threats Rasmus Dahlin and Casey Middelstadt. Also, Eric Comrie is having a solid campaign with 2.05 GAA and a .923 SV%. Unlocking the Sabres will require all the pieces of the team coming together like a machine to capitalize on every chance and having a balanced shot approach to see if Comrie’s weakness is glove or blocker, 5-hole or top shelf, or blueline tip vs. beating the defense up close.

3. Special Teams Matchup

The Devils currently lead the league in power play percentage while struggling on the PK at 27th. The Sabres are the opposite, going 7th at the penalty kill and while going 23rd at the man advantage. With this matchup, both teams will need the most out of their special teams units. Luckily, if the Devils can avoid foolish decisions while capitalizing on their 5-on-4 chances, they can try to build a lead. It all starts with the defense though. If you are going to be on this blueline core, you need to shut down as much as you create.

What are your thoughts? Views on the lines and units? Predictions for tonight?

Leave your thoughts and comments below. Raise Hell,

-Josh Biringer

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