Crucial Battle in the Playoff Race on Long Island | PREVIEW

New Jersey opens a three-game road trip against the New York Islanders in an early evening game.

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

Read below for your game preview with the pre-game story coming a few hours before puck drop.

PRE-GAME STORY

ELMONT - Kaapo Kahkonen will be between the pipes this afternoon when the Devils visit the Islanders at 5 p.m. and rookie netminder Isaac Poulter, called up by the club earlier this morning will serve as his backup. 

The Devils are on a quick turnover from their game last night against the 

"Any time you play the Islanders or a veteran team, you know they're going to be on top of you," interim head coach Travis Green said, "They've got a big group, that group of defensemen. Our overall game, our 200-foot game is going to have to be a lot better than it was last night. It should be an exciting game."

Jack Hits 300

Green on Jack Hughes hitting 300 games today: 

"He cares. He cares about winning. He's still a young guy in the league, it's hard to believe that he's played 300 games. He's an elite talent in the league. He's going to be a player and a dominant player in the league for a long time. New Jersey is lucky to have him."

No Passes

Committing 13 giveaways against the Ottawa Senators, Green is looking for a much better effort from his team against the Islanders, with a cleaned up play and sharper execution. 

"What we did with the puck, that really stalled our game," Green said, "We barely had a forecheck. When you don't have a forecheck, you've either not managed the puck in the neutral zone or not executed enough passes. To get a good forecheck, our breakouts weren't crisp enough. We just didn't play good enough with the puck to play in the other zone. We didn't have enough pressure on their goalie. And overall our game wasn't near good enough to win."

PREVIEW

DEVILS (34-33-4) at ISLANDERS (30-25-15)

Head-to-Head

This is the third of four meetings this season between the Devils and Islanders. Devils won on Long Island 5-4 on October 20 with a Jack Hughes overtime goal. On November 28, Devils won at home by a score of 5-4, this time in regulation.

In two games against the Islanders this season, Jack Hughes has two goals and seven points. Mathew Barzal has a goal and three assists for four points to lead the Islanders in scoring against the Devils in 2023-24.

Devils Team Scope:

After winning two in a row, the Devils lost a tough one at home on Saturday against Ottawa. They are six points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 11 games to play for both teams. 

In the month of March, Timo Meier leads the Devils with 11 goals and 15 points in 12 games. Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier are tied for second on the team with 12 points in 12 games each. 

Islanders Team Scope:

The Islanders have had a roller coaster of a month. After winning six straight games, they lost the next six (0-5-1) before winning on Saturday afternoon against the Winnipeg Jets to get back in the playoff race. 

With 75 points in 70 games, they're three points behind the Red Wings with a game in hand. They also have a game in hand on the Devils, three points ahead of New Jersey.  

Mathew Barzal leads the Islanders with 73 points in 69 games. Second on the club in points is defenseman Noah Dobson who's sixth in the NHL among blueliners with 65 points. Bo Horvat leads the team in goals with 29. 

By the Numbers:

Islanders have the worst penalty kill in the NHL (32nd) at 71.9%. ... Nico Hischier has been solid for a good stretch of time now with 29 points in his last 25 games. ... Jack Hughes has seven points this season against the Islanders in two games. Prior to this season, he had six points in 14 games (five goals, one assist). ... In his career against the Devils, Ilya Sorokin has a 6-4-1 record in 11 appearances with a 2.73 goals-against average and .913 save percentage. In his career, he has a 2.54 GAA and .919 save percentage. ... Since Patrick Roy was hired as head coach on January 20, the Islanders have a record of 11-10-4 in 25 games which ranks 20th in the NHL in that time. Devils in that same time frame are 11-16-1 for 23 points in 28 games. 

Injuries:

Devils

Hamilton – torn pectoral muscle, LTIR
Siegenthaler – concussion, IR
Bastian – lower-body injury, IR

Islanders

Mayfield - lower-body injury, IR