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Preview: Ignore the snow, the Devils are in town!

Marcus Johansson is going to get to see some of his old pals.

By Dan.Ryan
Philadelphia Flyers v New Jersey Devils - Game Five Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Just the facts

When: Tonight, 7 PM

Where: TD Garden - Boston, MA

How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Rival SBN site: All About the Jersey

Know your enemy

  • 25-31-8, 58 PTS, last in the Metropolitan Division
  • Kyle Palmieri: 26G-22A-48PTS; Nico Hischier: 17G-26A-43PTS; Taylor Hall: 11G-26A-37PTS
  • Cory Schneider: 4-8-2, 3.26 GAA, .898 save percentage

Game notes

  • It’s a snowy Saturday in Boston! And it’ll be followed by a snowy Sunday night too. Don’t you just love March in New England?
  • The Bruins are going to benefit from another weird scheduling quirk tonight: the Devils played last night, losing to the Flyers at home. The Devils then had to pile on a plane (they could have gone old school with the train travel, really) and fly up to Boston, while the Bruins just kind of sat home and waited.
  • The Devils are kind of just a mess overall. Taylor Hall, last season’s MVP, has missed the majority of the season due to injury. Losing your best player for most of the season isn’t ideal, and the Devils are feeling the effects. Goaltending is an issue as well, with both Mackenzie Blackwood and Cory Schneider struggling. Keith Kinkaid was traded to Columbus as well, so...yeah.
  • While the injury to Hall was mentioned above, the Devils are dealing with a number of other injuries as well. Miles Wood is out for a bit, as is leading scorer Kyle Palmieri. Mirco Mueller suffered a scary injury the other night, crashing into the boards head first and getting carted off on a stretcher. He’s reportedly OK, suffering a shoulder injury.
  • Schneider played last night against the Flyers, so we’ll probably see Blackwood tonight.
  • The Devils do have some talent on this roster. Nico Hischier is a good, young player, as is Jesper Bratt. Sami Vatanen has talent on the back end. Still, this is a game the Bruins should win.
  • Peter Cehlarik will be back in the lineup tonight, as Sean Kuraly is out due to the concussion he suffered after that high hit from Braydon Coburn on Thursday night.
  • I am extremely here for a third line of Cehlarik-Coyle-Backes. BIG BODY HOCKEY, BABY.
  • No word yet, but it seems likely that Jaroslav Halak gets the start tonight.

Stay safe in the snow!