The New Jersey Devils had a few days off to gather themselves after a tough start to the season. It doesn’t get any easier, however, as they visit the Philadelphia Flyers for their home opener.
There is a lot to look forward to at the Wednesday night game between the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers, especially for Devils fans. It is all about looking forward from here. Those first two games are in the past and the Devils have had a little break to come back to Earth from it all.
We still don’t know what the lines will be for the third game, but based on what has been taking place in practice this week, it would appear that the top line of Taylor Hall, Nico Hischier and Kyle Palmieri will be breaking up. It isn’t a sad break-up, but a necessary one for the team. The top line was the most successful last week with an even-strength goal in both games.
This break-up is being done in hopes of adding some more depth and stability to the top two lines. It’s a strategic tactic done from time to time by coaches to add balance. This is a good decision right now for what this team needs. If they see success from the new lines, then hopefully Coach Hynes will leave the lines alone and allow them to develop some natural chemistry with one other.
A major focal point for this team will be to work on their penalty kill. This was a strength of the Devils a year ago and they got ravaged by the Buffalo Sabres power play on Saturday night. It is expected to be something that is fixed before other aspects of their game considering the team’s success on the PK last year. That game against the Sabres may have been “one of those games” that each team has every year, at least that is what Devils fans are hopeful for.
It will not be an easy task to go into Philadelphia on their home opener and coming out of it with a victory, but considering how these Devils’ backs are already up against the wall, they should be very aggressive in this one. They have something to prove, which will create a sense of urgency for them. This hopefully leads to their first win of the season.
Most of the Metropolitan Division already has marks in the win column. The Devils need to be up to the challenge. We can expect them to be zoned in from start to finish with the goal being two points. This team wants nothing more than to forget what happened last week. What better way to put that in the rear-view than a win on enemy ice in Philadelphia? This could be exactly what the Devils need.