The New Jersey Devils have had an incredible offseason. They made lots of improvements to their team, but now it is time to see some of it in action.
The New Jersey Devils are set to begin the preseason portion of their schedule tonight. They will play the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre in Montreal, while the Boston Bruins will be at Prudential Center in New Jersey. It has been a long time coming, but hockey is back. After such an exciting offseason for Devils fans, it is time to see some of it on the ice.
Taylor Hall missed most of last season after getting off to a really good start. He will not play in either of the two games on Monday as he will get his reps in later in the preseason. There is not much time in between now and the home opener so the most important thing for Hall is being healthy and having all the rust shaken off from the long layoff.
The game in Montreal will feature stars like Nico Hischieir and Kyle Palmieri. Blake Coleman will play on the top line with those two. This will be an opportunity to get a look at guys like Nathan Bastian and Michael McLeod as well. Damon Severson and Will Butcher are the notable defensemen that have made the trip and MacKenzie Blackwood will make the start in net. There is also Evan Cormier backing him up so he might see some time too.
Both games are extremely exciting to watch for fans but the one in New Jersey is the one with all the hype around it. Jack Hughes, Nikita Gusev, Ty Smith, Jesper Boqvist, and P.K. Subban will all make their preseason debut in this one. You will also get to see familiar faces like Miles Wood, Travis Zajac, Jesper Bratt, Sami Vatanen, Andy Greene, and Connor Carrick. Cory Schneider will start for New Jersey and Gilles Senn will back him up and likely see some time.
This is also an opportunity to get a look at some of the prospects that go beyond Hughes, Boqvisit, and Smith. Guys like Marian Studenic, Graeme Clarke, Brandon Gignac, and Yegor Sharangovich will also get a look in these two games. This whole preseason is about building the right team between the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League and making sure the right players develop the right way.
So let’s get started. The games will both start at 6 pm eastern time. We have been waiting for this for a long time. Keep an eye on the star players who may have some extra room out there due to the fact that it is preseason, but also keen on some of the young guys who have a long way to go. This is where the fun begins.