The New Jersey Devils will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight in Florida.
The Devils enter the third game of their five-game road trip with a 13-4-1 record. They are 4-0-1 in their last five games, despite a growing injury list.
Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Lightning enter the matchup with a 9-7-2 record.
This meeting marks the second time the teams face off this season; the Devils previously won 5-3 over the Lightning in their first encounter.
Following tonight, the teams will meet once more this season on December 11th in Newark.
The Devils have made several roster moves in recent weeks. On Monday, they called up Ethan Edwards from Utica. Three injured players—Hamilton, Brown, and Dadonov—joined the team in Florida and participated in Monday’s skate.
Coach Shelton Keefe told NHL.com that their availability tonight will be determined at game time.
”All three guys are preparing to play, I’d call them game-time decisions,” Keefe said. “We’ll just have to monitor them to see how they are. They haven’t skated as much as we’d like them to with the group, so that’s our challenge right now. Medically, they’re feeling good. No issues there. Just making sure they’re feeling right to get back in the game with the limited amount of practice time and time with our group.”
The complete injury list ahead of the game, including those three players who skated on Monday, is below.
Devils Injuries:
J. Hughes (finger)
MacEwen (lower-body)
Glass (upper-body)
Hamilton (undisclosed)
Brown (undisclosed)
Pesce (upper-body)
Dadonov (hand)
Kovacevic (knee)
McLaughlin (undisclosed)
The Lightning have struggled this season, earning 20 points while dealing with a similar injury list.
Lightning Injuries:
Paul (upper-body)
Cirelli (upper-body)
McDonagh (lower-body)
James (upper-body)
Hedman (undisclosed)
Holmberg (undisclosed)
Players to Watch:
For the Devils, Jack Hughes leads with 10 goals but will miss at least six weeks after an off-ice hand injury. Simon Nemec is on a roll after his November 12 hat trick against Chicago. He has four goals in three games, stepping up in the absence of veteran defenders.
For the Lightning, Jake Guentzel has three goals and one assist in the past five games.
The matchup will be a battle for both teams, with the Devils aiming for a third road win and the Lightning eager to rebound from their 6-2 loss to Vancouver on Sunday.
Keefe offered his perspective on the matchup in comments to NHL.com.
“Tampa, they’re a team that’s playing a lot better now and feeling better,” Keefe said. “I just expect the game to start similarly to the last time we were in here. We’ve got to match that. We’ve just got to keep playing the way that we have and bring that same level of intensity we brought to Game 2 of the season.”
The puck will drop at 7 pm in Tampa Bay.
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