It is Retro Night at the Prudential Center! The New Jersey Devils are going to take on the New York Islanders while wearing their Reverse Retro sweaters. This will be their second time wearing them but the first time at home. It is expected to be a sold-out crowd.
Coming in at 21-4-1, the New Jersey Devils are tied with the Boston Bruins for the league lead with 43 standings points. It has been a remarkable run for them as they have exceeded all expectations coming into the season.
This New York Islanders team is pesky. After missing the postseason in 2021-22, they are rebounding nicely this year all things considered.
At 16-11-0, they are tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for third in the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh has fewer games played so they hold the tiebreaker which has the Islanders in a Wild Card spot currently.
The New Jersey Devils have a big game on Friday vs the New York Islanders.
Obviously, the Devils have been much better than the Islanders so far this season. The Devils played the Islanders once this season already (in New York) and beat them 4-1. Now, they are going to try and do something similar at home.
In order to win, the team is going to need to play good defense but they are also going to need to score. The New York Islanders have one of the best goalies in the league Ilya Sorokin. He has been amazing so far this year and has a chance at the Vezina Trophy.
Sorokin is fifth in the NHL with a 2.33 goals-against average and fourth with a .927 save percentage. He is certainly hard to beat on most occasions.
In games that Sorokin doesn’t start, they use Semyon Varlamov. He is amazing as well as he sits eighth with a 2.52 goals-against average and sixth with a 9.22 save percentage. These two push each other so every opponent gets a top-flight netminder.
The Devils are going to do what they can in order to do just that. Their offense is going to need to be on point in order to win this game.
Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt need to lead the way which is something that we have seen a lot of so far from this trio. In order to take advantage of their abilities, the depth of the team needs to be there as well.
Dougie Hamilton leads the way offensively from the back end. If he can play to his strengths in this one, the forwards will have a much easier time. He can also help them on the power play if New Jersey finds itself in that kind of situation throughout the game.
It might seem obvious to say that the team needs to score in order to win. Against the Islanders with Sorokin in the net, it is even more important to be extra polished with your decision-making and your tenacity in the offensive zone.
The Devils are in first place and are playing against one of their rivals on a Friday night during the holiday season while wearing their amazing new sweaters. Life is good.