The Chicago Blackhawks are in town to play the New Jersey Devils and these two teams are going through a struggle right now.
The New Jersey Devils need a win really bad. They are going to play the Chicago Blackhawks tonight, who are a similar team to the Devils. Both of these teams have lots of talent to put on the ice, but they haven’t been able to put it together on the ice for consistent stretches. The result is them both entering this game as last-place teams in their division.
The Blackhawks blew a 3-0 lead to the Boston Bruins last night but Jonathan Toews eventually won the game in overtime. His goal gave the Blackhawks their first win in four games. The Devils are trying to do the same thing as they have three straight losses now and need a win desperately. Patrick Kane and Taylor Hall are each recent Hart Trophy winners that will be looking to lead their team to a victory. Each player has game-breaking ability so it is just a matter of who brings it the most.
Obviously, outside of Kane the Blackhawks still have lots of talent at forward. With players like Jonathan Toews, Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome, and Brandon Saad there they will certainly be able to create some scoring chances. With Robin Lehner getting the overtime win last night in Boston, Chicago is going to use Corey Crawford in this game against the Devils. These two teams could end up playing a very entertaining game if each is hard on the puck and spends the entire game trading chances.
This is the first half of a back to back for the Devils. They will head from New Jersey to Nashville to take on the Predators there so they need to have their best effort here. Nashville, like Chicago, has underachieved so far this year so there is no doubt that they will need to have a big effort this weekend. The Hawk’s style of play might work in their favor so hopefully, the Devils are able to get Alain Nasreddine his first win as an NHL head coach.