Devils Kick off Back-to-Back in Calgary | PREVIEW

New Jersey is in Calgary taking on the Flames, the first half of a road back-to-back. Saturday's game starts at 2 p.m. local/4 p.m. ET.

You can watch on MSGSN or listen on the Devils Hockey Network.

Read below for your game preview and check back two hours before puck drop to read your pre-game story.

PRE-GAME STORY

CALGARY - The Devils look to make it three-for-three on this four-game road trip in an afternoon game against the Calgary Flames.

With the Flames, the Devils are battling a team that started out slowly but have started to come on.

“They’ve been a team that’s been able to fight back late in games," said Devils head coach Lindy Ruff a few hours before the game. "They’ve got down often but there’s a belief on their side. It doesn’t matter if they get down, they can come back.”

The Devils haven't hit the ice since their win Thursday night in Seattle. Normally, the day before an afternoon clash they will try and get a practice in but Ruff felt that rest was more important. 

“Part of the reason was we got in extremely late and with four games in six days, back-to-back and afternoon games you’re almost look like three games in three days. Our greatest weapon was resting our group,” he said of a squad that got to their hotel in Calgary just before 3:00 a.m. local time Friday morning. 

Ruff didn't tip his hand on any lineup adjustments, but it's possible Nate Bastian draws back in for Brendan Smith as the head coach wasn't enamored with Smith's play in Seattle. 

“I thought okay," he said of Smith's play. "Tough penalty to take. A penalty we can’t take in that situation of the game.”

Ruff also noted that he felt the team's performance in the game took a dip following that penalty kill. 

“I thought until the power play in the third period, I liked the way the game was going. The chances were limited. We had some really good looks where our D was involved, couple of odd numbered rushes. We kept away from the high event and inside stuff. Did a good job in the middle of the ice," Ruff began. 

"That power play gave them a lot of momentum. That was probably the only point from then on that I didn’t like how we handled the pressure."

PREVIEW

DEVILS (13-10-1) vs. FLAMES (11-12-3)

Head-to-Head

This is the first of two meetings between the Devils and Flames this season with the second at Prudential Center on Feb. 8.

Last year, the Devils won both games last year. In the first matchup in Calgary, the Devils picked up a 4-3 win in overtime with goals from Fabian Zetterlund (2G), Nathan Bastian, and Miles Wood. Just three nights later, the Devils picked up a 3-2 win over the Flames at Prudential Center. Ryan Graves, Dougie Hamilton, and Nico Hischier scored for New Jersey in their win.

Devils Team Scope:

After suffering three straight losses, the Devils have won five of their last six games and picked up their second straight win on the road when they beat the Seattle Kraken Thursday night, 2-1. In the win, Ondrej Palat scored his fourth of the season while rookie Simon Nemec scored his first NHL goal. Nemec has three points in as many games after picking up two assists in his NHL debut on Dec. 1. New Jersey defended their one goal lead for the final half of the game and Akira Schmid stopped 37 of the 38 shots he faced. The Devils were unable to score on any of their three power plays in the win, but their penalty kill came up big, stopping the Kraken on their two opportunities.

Tyler Toffoli’s 12 goals lead the Devils, and the forward has nine assists for 21 total points. Jack Hughes has 23 helpers which is a team-high, as are his 33 points. Hughes has 10 goals through 19 games played this season Hughes’ 33 points are the 9th most in the NHL, despite him playing under 20 games and every other player on the list with 24 or more games played. Jesper Bratt is second in assists (19) and points (29) and he’s tied with Hughes for second on the Devils with 10 goals.

Saturday’s game against the Flames kicks off a back-to-back as the Devils will wrap up their four-game road trip in Edmonton against the Oilers on Sunday.

Flames Team Scope:

The Flames snapped a two-game skid to start December when they picked up a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday night. Despite the Hurricanes scoring two first period goals, the Flames stormed back in the third period, scoring three unanswered goals to get the win. Former Devil Blake Coleman had a goal and an assist, including the game winner, while Yegor Sharangovich picked up the lone assist on Coleman’s shorthanded tally. Goaltender Dustin Wolf picked up his first win of the season in his second appearance, stopping 28 of the 30 shots he faced. Calgary has won three of their last five games.

Coleman and Elias Lindholm lead the Flames with seven goals a piece, while Nazem Kauri’s 12 assists are a team-high. Kadri and Lindholm share the lead for points with 17 each. Coleman’s 15 points are second in the category while Jonathan Huberdeau’s 11 assists are the second-most on the Flames. Calgary’s starting goaltender, Jacob Markstrom, is out with a fractured finger. He’s week-to-week and is not available to play the Devils.

Saturday’s game is the final of six straight at home for the Flames who head on a three-game road trip with stops in Colorado, Las Vegas, and Minnesota before returning home.

By the Numbers:

Michael McLeod is second in the NHL for overall face-off win percentage, 62.6% and is first when it comes to winnning draws on the road (63.3%). Elias Lindholm has the 24th highest win percentage in the NHL, 54.9%. Lindholm's win percentage at home, 56.3%, is higher than his average.

Simon Nemec scored his first NHL goal on Thursday against the Seattle Kraken. Nemec became the second-youngest Slovakian-born defenseman to score an NHL goal. Kristian Kudroc is the youngest.

Injuries:

Devils

Tomas Nosek (right foot)

Dougie Hamilton (torn left pectoral muscle)

Flames

Jacob Markstrom (fractured finger, week-to-week)

Jakob Pelletier (upper-body)

Kevin Rooney (upper-body)

Oliver Kylington (undisclosed)