Preview: New Jersey Devils vs San Jose Sharks
New Jersey Devils vs San Jose Sharks – Game 1 of 2 – November 23, 2013
Devils (9-8-5) TV – MSG+
Devils Radio – WFAN 660/ 101.9 FM
Sharks (14-3-5) TV – CSNCAL
The New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks will meet for the first time this season at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The two teams will conclude the series at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on March 2nd.
Nov 20, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur (30) during the game against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center. The Devils defeated the Ducks 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Devils are coming off of 2 overtime wins on this 3-game California road trip and winners of 3 straight overall. Martin Brodeur will start tonight vs. Antti Niemi.
The Devils are 4-0-1 in their last 5 road games and are 6-3-1 in their last 10. They squeaked past the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday and beat the Anaheim Ducks on their home ice in overtime on Wednesday. While the Devils played fairly poor on Thursday, Wednesday’s game saw them play pretty well in a hostile Anaheim arena. The Ducks were unbeaten at the Honda Center prior to that game.
Seeing the Devils win on the road is a good sign as they have now bumped their road record up to a more appealing 5-6-3. Seeing the Devils win in overtime is probably the best thing that has come out of the last 2 games. The Devils were 0-4 in the shootout and 0-1 in games decided during the overtime portion and now they are showing signs of improvement at 2-1.
Their shootout record still stands at 0-4 and is certainly still a blemish on their record. It is one that probably won’t get fixed any time soon as the Devils have not historically been good on the shootout outside of Patrik Elias, Ilya Kovlachuk, and Zach Parise.
The Devils have a chance to close the gap on the Washington Capitals for second place in the Metropolitan Division. Washington is tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs at the moment and are about to go to overtime. Washington went into tonight with 25 points compared to the Devils’ 23. The Devils also came into the night in 8th place in the Eastern Conference 1 point ahead of the New York Rangers and 2 points behind the Capitals.
Jacob Josefson (at LW) and Damien Brunner are in the lineup tonight with Andrei Loktionov and Mattias Tedenby sitting out.
This is another great statement by Pete DeBoer. Loktionov has also been struggling offensively and now Pete believes it’s his time to sit on the bench.
Nov 21, 2013; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks right wing Brent Burns (88) sits on the bench next to San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton (19) after Burns scored a goal during the third period against the Tampa Bay Lightning at SAP Center at San Jose. Sharks won 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports
San Jose recently had Brent Burns return to the lineup after a 13 game absence. After going 6-3-4 without him, the Sharks are glad to have him back as they are 8-0-1 with him in the lineup (ESPN).
Tomas Hertl is the big man on campus after his 4-goal showing early on in the season and he has flourished on the top line.
Niemi has had a good season so far going 11-3-5 with a 2.22 goals against average.
Injury Updates:
Lou Lamoriello confirmed to Tom Gulitti today that Ryane Clowe resumed skating this week. Bryce Salvador has not skated while Anton Volchenkov has resumed skating.