Devils Take on Predators in Nashville | PREVIEW

New Jersey will play the second half of a back-to-back on Tuesday night when the Devils visit the Nashville Predators. 

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

Read below for your game preview and pre-game story below.

PRE-GAME STORY

NASHVILLE, TN - Curtis Lazar will play his 500th NHL game tonight in Nashville, with a real full-circle moment on the horizon. On Oct. 9, 2014, Lazar made his NHL debut with the Ottawa Senators and that game too was in Nashville. 

"Just the fact that you have to be adaptable, sometimes you're not going to be the player you were when you left Junior," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "As a young player, as a gifted offensive player, that sometimes gets put into a role where maybe he's a penalty killer, maybe put in a third or fourth line player and you're waiting behind a lot of the top offensive players on the team. He's been able to adjust and it's the reason he's played the number of games he's played."

The Devils will likely have the services of Brendan Smith tonight who has been out of the lineup since Jan. 15 when he suffered a sprained knee. With Smith's return and coming off of injured reserve, the Devils had to do some roster management by sending a waivers exempt Santeri Hatakka back to Utica of the American Hockey League. 

“He told us he could play,” Ruff said, "He brought real consistent play, his puck movement, he made a lot of good decisions defensively. He was strong on his reads when I talked to him we talked a little bit about even at the end of training camp, the last preseason game, any young player, or a player that doesn’t have a lot of games wants to make an impression and his consistent play made a good impression.”

Nashville, who lead the league in hits, will be a tough opponent, but the way the Devils have played recently is an encouraging sign to being able to handle that type of game. We've seen the team string together some really strong performances lately and it will take more of the same to return back to New Jersey with two points. 

“We have to do the work," Ruff shared, "So when you get inside the offensive zone I think you look at a team like Carolina, we knew it was going to be tough to get away from them in their zone, we did a good job. We’re going to focus on that type of effort where we keep our feet moving, get the puck, get it to places where we’re creating foot races and not get in situations we’re standing still and that opens up the ice for us.”

PREVIEW

DEVILS (26-21-4) vs. PREDATORS (27-23-3)

Head-to-Head

This will be the first meeting between the New Jersey Devils and Nashville Predators this season and will mark the first time the Devils face their former associate coach Andrew Brunette. Brunette was hired as head coach of the Predators this past off-season. The final game of the two-game set between the teams will be on April 7 at Prudential Center.

Last season the Predators had the best of the Devils, winning both games. The first Predators victory was on Dec. 1, 2022, when Ryan Johanson scored 33 seconds into overtime, handing the Devils just their second loss in 18 games. Nashville beat New Jersey again on Jan. 25, 2023 in a 7-4 final.

Devils Team Scope:

The Devils are coming off of a full team effort against the Seattle Kraken, in the first half of a back-to-back to start the week. Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist, Tyler Toffoli broke the power play slump and Dawson Mercer recorded his 15th goal of the season in the 3-1 win. 

New Jersey is without goaltender Vitek Vanecek, who was sick and also dealing with a lower-body injury. Nico Daws picked up the victory against Seattle and Akira Schmid returned from the AHL to backup Daws in the Devils net. It is not yet clear whether Vanecek will be able to play in the second half of the back-to-back in Nashville.

The injury list does keep narrowing and could very well be one player shorter on Tuesday. Defenseman Brendan Smith joined the team for morning skate on Monday and head coach Lindy Ruff indicated there is a possibility he will be able to return to the lineup in Nashville. 

Predators Team Scope:

The Predators are very much in a Wild Card race in the Western Conference, currently two points behind the L.A. Kings and St. Louis Blues who hold the WC 1 and 2 spot respectively, both with 58 points.

Nashville is currently on a 7-3-0 stretch and winner of their last two games.

Filip Forsberg leads Nashville with 53 points and has the team lead in goals as well, with 25. Defenseman Roman Josi is second in points and leads all Predators with 36 assists. Ryan O’Reilly, who signed as a free agent this summer has 11 power-play goals, five more than Josi as the top two power play goal scorers.

On Monday the club recalled forwards Egor Afanasyev and Mark Jankowski from Milwaukee of the AHL.

By the Numbers:

• The Devils broke their power play slump when Tyler Toffoli scored a man-advantage goal at 13:36 of the first period against Seattle. Before Toffoli's goal, the power play had gone 0-for-23 over nine games.

• Curtis Lazar will be playing in his 500th NHL game. Lazar, who joined the Devils last season via trade with Vancouver, made his NHL debut during the 2014-15 season with the Ottawa Senators. A bit of a journeyman, Lazar has also played with the Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins.

Injuries:

Devils

Smith - sprained knee, day-to-day
Siegenthaler - broken foot, IR
Vanecek - lower-body/illness
Hamilton - torn pectoral, LTIR

Predators

None.