The Devils take on the Red Wings in Detroit at Little Caesars Arena in the first game of a back-to-back.
Game time on Saturday is 8:00 p.m. ET and you can watch on MSG+ or listen on the Devils Hockey Network.
Look below for the pre-game story, lineup updates, and more on tonight's matchup.

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS

GAME DAY VIDEO
WATCH:
Devils Minute | Without Key Guys
WATCH:
Devils Player Mercer
WATCH:
Head Coach Lindy Ruff Pre-Game
BY THE NUMBERS
Stats Comparisons: Devils vs. Red Wings
Media Game Notes: Devils vs. Red Wings
Devils Player Statistics
Red Wings Player Statistics
NHL Standings
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TV & RADIO
You can watch tonight's game on MSG+.
You can listen to tonight's game on the Devils Hockey Network.
There are still tickets available for Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Purchase them here
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INSIDE THE DEVILS

The Devils are battling through health issues related to COVID-19 and non-COVID illness as well as preparing for a weekend back-to-back.
Read more on Inside the Devils Blog.

PRE-GAME STORY

DETROIT, M.I. - The Devils held their morning skate on the practice facility ice at Detroit's Little Caesars Arena. The club was without goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood and defenseman P.K. Subban.
Blackwood did not join the team on the trip and is listed as day-to-day with a neck injury. Subban, who was held out of the previous game as a precaution, has entered the COVID-19 protocol.
Either 21-year-old rookie Akira Schmid or veteran Jon Gillies will get the start in net.
"We have two goalies with a little bit of experience," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "We know both of them have played well in games. We run with what we've got."
Running with what they've "got" would also include the absence of five players currently in protocol. Subban joins Nico Hischier, Ryan Graves, Christian Jaros and Jesper Boqvist.
"We're being challenged as a team. It's hard," Ruff said of their situation. "We know that there are other teams are dealing with it. Other teams are being shut down. At some point, it's the young guys' opportunity to prove they can be players. But you know at the same time when you take some of the players that we have out of our lineup we have to adjust how we play, and make sure we're not giving up the type of situations that help us lose a game and not help us win a game."
Line Reunion
The Devils used the following workflow at the morning skate:
Zacha - Hughes - Tatar
Johnsson - Mercer - Bratt
Kuokkanen - Sharangovich - Studenic
Vesey - McLeod - Bastian
Smith - Hamilton
Siegenthaler - Severson
Geertsen - Bahl
The coaching staff has reunited the Andreas Johnsson, Dawson Mercer and Jesper Bratt trio. The line, which had skated together earlier in the season, was the team's best while playing together.
"I think we played really (well) when we got together," Mercer said. "Whichever line I play with I want to do my best and do my part. During morning skate, skating with them felt good. It felt like games ago when we played together we had a lot of success. We build off that and we're just trying to get back up on that same platform that we were when we were together."
Energy Balance
The Devils actually wanted to put the Johnsson-Mercer-Bratt line together Thursday against Vegas. However, Johnsson and Bratt were still fighting off the effects of an illness that went through the team. So, the coaching staff put its lines together based on energy levels.
"We tried to divide the energy up on lines," Ruff stated. "First time in my career we went to balancing the energy and balancing lines with a couple guys that felt good and couple guys that didn't feel great. That's crazy stuff as it is."
The Devils did not skate Friday and getting some rest seems to have paid off.
"I thought we had good energy this morning. That's all I'm going to focus on," Ruff said. "We took yesterday off to try and get rest. Rest is the most important thing for medical (purposes). When you're not feeling well, rest and get your sleep. Our players are getting their sleep, but I thought the energy at our morning skate was good. It seemed to be back at a much higher level."
--Sam Kasan, NewJerseyDevils.com

PREVIEW

DEVILS (10-13-5) vs. RED WINGS (14-13-3)
TV: 8:00 p.m. ET; Televised MSG+
RADIO: Devils Hockey Network
Head-to-Head
The last time these teams played was Feb. 25, 2020 when the Devils beat the Red Wings 4-1 in Detroit. Just two weeks earlier, New Jersey beat Detroit by the same score at Prudential Center. The Devils won all three meetings with Detroit, beating the Red Wings 5-1 in the other contest during the 2019-20 campaign on Nov. 23.
Saturday's game is the first of three contests against the Red Wings this season.
Devils Team Scope
New Jersey has dropped its last four contests including 5-3 on Thursday against the Golden Knights. New Jersey has a 10-13-5 record this season.
In addition, the team has played with a depleted roster, losing four players to the COVID protocol list: Nico Hischier, Ryan Graves, Christian Jaros, and Jesper Boqvist. Boqvist was added to the list before Thursday's game after being held out of morning skate for precautionary reasons. Ahead of the game against Vegas, the Devils held out P.K. Subban for precautionary reasons.
Other players on the Devils roster have battled a non-COVID related illness, however the team made a turn for the better on Thursday.
Jesper Bratt leads the team with assists (16) and points (24), while Andreas Johnsson and Pavel Zacha are pacing the Devils with 9 goals each. Mackenzie Blackwood has a 3.14 goals against average and a .902 save percentage. He's played in 16 games with 15 starts with a 5-6-3 record.
The Devils have a busy week before the NHL breaks for the holidays. Following the trip to Michigan Saturday, New Jersey returns home to play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday for Star Wars Night. The team hits the road again to head to Pittsburgh for a Tuesday night matchup against the Penguins before rounding out the week with a home contest against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Red Wings Team Scope:
The Red Wings come into the contest dropping their most recent game to the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-3. However, Detroit has a 6-4-0 record in its last ten games and has a 14-13-3 overall record.
The Red Wings allowed three first-period goals to the Hurricanes in Thursday's game, which Detroit's Captain Dylan Larkin said "We gave it to them. We gave them goals. We gave them easy looks. They capitalized. They get one on the power play to start the game. That'll get them going. From there on out, we gave it to them. It's a disappointing feeling right now." The Devils who scored in the first two minutes of its most recent contest against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Like the Devils, the Red Wings are suffering from some roster changes due to COVID. Robby Fabbri and Michael Rasmussen are out for Detroit after both were placed on the league's protocol lit on Dec. 15.
Lucas Raymond leads the Red Wings with 27 points and assists with 17. Dylan Larkin is the team's goals leader with 12. Detroit's netminder Alex Nedeljkovic has a 2.78 goals against average and a .916 save percentage. He's played 21 games this season, starting 18 of them, and has a 9-7-3 record.
By the Numbers:
Jimmy Vesey's shorthanded goal in the Devils game against the Golden Knights was the team's third of the season. New Jersey only scored three total shorthanded goals during the 2020-21 season through 56 games played.
Rookie Lucas Raymond's strong start this season has him climbing the Red Wings's list for most points by a rookie. Through 30 games, the forward has 27 points which ties him for 42nd, however with 50 less games. Current Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman has the most points as a rookie in team history with 87 (39G-48A).
Injury Updates:
Devils
Thompson (IR, upper body)
Wood (IR, hip)
Bernier (IR, hip)
Graves (COVID protocol)
Hischier (COVID protocol)
Jaros (COVID protocol)
Boqvist (COVID protocol)
Subban (COVID protocol)
Red Wings
Vrana (IR, shoulder)
Stephens (IR, lower body)
Stecher (IR, undisclosed)
Fabbri (COVID protocol)
Rasmussen (COVID protocol)
Smith (COVID protocol)
Rowney (COVID protocol)
Nedeljkovic (COVID protocol)
--Catherine Bogart, NJD.TV