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New Jersey Devils Aim to take Series Lead with Carolina

By Jeremiah McElwain

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109. Final. . 85.

The New Jersey Devils (17-14-5) host the Carolina Hurricanes (15-16-5) Tuesday night in a rematch of Saturday’s game in Carolina.

This will be the third time the Devils and ‘Canes have met this month, the Devils coming away with a 5-1 win on December 3rd and the ‘Canes winning Saturday’s game 3-1.

Carolina is playing their third game in four days, but the ‘Canes are riding a two-game win streak, having beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2 -1 Sunday. The ‘Canes currently sit in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division, four points behind the Devils who are in fourth.

The Devils have been inconsistent lately, unable to win back-to-back games in over a month (November 12th & 14th), while Carolina has won three of their last four.

Goalie Matchup

The Devils will start Keith Kinkaid, whose last start was December 19th, a 2-1 home loss to the Ducks. Kinkaid is also posting a .901 save percentage on the season and stopped 16-of-18 shots faced against the Ducks. Cory Schneider will start Wednesday’s game in Ottawa.

The Hurricanes will start Cam Ward who posted a win against the Devils Saturday. Ward has won 11 games this year with a .901 save percentage, and stopped 19-of-20 shots Saturday. Ward did not start against the Blackhawks Sunday.

Lineup Changes

From all signs it looks as if Devils coach John Hynes will be making several lineup changes tonight. According to Tom Gulitti, Tuomo Ruutu will be a scratch tonight due to an illness. Gulitti also reports that Patrik Elias will likely be placed back on the injured reserve, with Bobby Farnham being activated.

Although the lines haven’t been announced, Monday’s practice showed a shakeup of the lines. Mike Cammalleri, Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri were running together on the first line while Adam Henrique, Jiri Tlusty and Tyler Kennedy filled out the second line. Lee Stempniak, Sergey Kalinin and Jacob Josefson were on the third line, but Josefson will be sitting out for the first time this season as a healthy scratch so it appears Stefan Matteau will be his replacement. The fourth line saw Stephen Gionta with Bobby Farnham and Jordin Tootoo. 

“Keith has played well and deserved another chance. If you got it, use it and it makes it easier on the back-to-backs.” – Corey Schneider

The offensive lines weren’t the only ones shaken up as Hynes moved John Moore to the right side pairing him with Andy Greene. Adam Larson and David Schlemko were also paired together with Damon Severson sharing a line that was split between Jon Merrill and Eric Gelinas. With Gelinas listed as a healthy scratch it appears Merrill will get the nod.

As for the ‘Canes, Michael Smith is reporting that Elias Lindholm will be a game time decision for Carolina.

Analysis

After the Devils lost to Carolina on Saturday it appears Hynes has decided a complete shakeup was in order to try to break the team out of their current funk. With back-to-back games tonight and tomorrow it will be interesting to see how the lines gel. According to Hynes, the changes are to get “a fresh look, give some guys different opportunities.” With the way the Devils offense has floundered recently, if this sparks offence over the next two nights I would not be surprised to see these lines stay intact. If the offense struggles and leaves Kinkaid hanging tonight and Corey Schneider tomorrow it looks like it will be back to the drawing board for Hynes.

As the Devils approach the midway point of the season it’s been frustrating to see the inconsistency. The highs are high, and the lows are low Hopefully these changes will give the Devils the kick in the pants they need to jump start the second half of the season and make a playoff push.

Finding the Broadcast

The game will air on MSG+ with the puck dropping at 7 p.m. It can be found on the radio on 660AM and  Radio 101.9 FM WFAN.

One last thought

Next: Can the New Jersey Devils Score Goals for Cory Schneider

Should the Devils bring Gomez back? Feel free to post your thoughts about Gomez as well as the Devils/’Canes match-up in the comments section below!

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