The Devils will head into the Christmas break with one final game against the NHL's best team, the Boston Bruins. The puck drops at 7 p.m.
You can watch on MSGSN 2 or listen on the Devils Hockey Network.
Read the pre-game story, watch interviews following morning skate, and more below!

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS

WATCH LIVE
PlayUp Devils Live Pre-Game Show with host Catherine Bogart begins at 6:15 p.m. ET.
After the game, tune into our Genucel Live Post-Game Show with Catherine and Devils Hockey Network's Jason Shaya and Chico Resch.
GAME DAY VIDEO
WATCH:
Bears Before Break | Devils Minute
WATCH:
Haula
|
Smith
|
Okhotiuk
WATCH:
Head Coach Lindy Ruff
BY THE NUMBERS
Stats Comparison: Devils vs. Bruins
Media Game Notes: Devils vs. Bruins
Head to Head: Devils vs. Bruins
Devils Player Statistics
s Player Statistics
NHL Standings
RECENT VIDEOS
MATT & MAVEN:
Santa Claus
JERSEY LIFE:
2022 Hospital Visits
REWIND:
Clawed to Victory
RECENT ARTICLES
10 TAKEAWAYS:
Looking Forward
PROSPECT WATCH:
Devils Prospects at World Junior
PROSPECT WATCH:
Edwards Bringing What Michigan Needs
TV & RADIO
You can watch the game on MSGSN 2.
You can listen to the game on the Devils Hockey Network.

PRE-GAME STORY

NEWARK, NJ. - After an off-day on Thursday, the Devils had a full morning skate ahead of their game against the Boston Bruins. It's the final game before New Jersey has a three-day Winter Break.
New Jersey used the following work flow at Friday's morning skate:
Tatar - Hischier - Zetterlund
Haula - Hughes - Bratt
Wood - McLeod - Mercer
Sharangovich - Boqvist - Holtz
Siegenthaler - Hamilton
Smith - Severson
Okhotiuk - Bahl
During the roadtrip to Carolina and Florida, the Devils saw two of their defensemen injured: John Marino suffered an upper-body injury during the second period against the Hurricanes, while Ryan Graves sustained a lower-body injury during the opening three minutes against the Panthers.
Devils head coach Lindy Ruff gave health updates on both following morning skate.
On Graves: "He'll be further evaluated, he's going to be out tonight, he'll see doctors tonight. A lower body injury, (for the) short term he's out."
On Marino: "He's a little bit longer, he'll be week-to-week. It's an upper-body injury that we'll look at in that type of time frame."
NEXT MAN UP
With Marino and Graves unavailable to play, the Devils recalled Nikita Okhotiuk from the Utica Comets on Thursday. Through his 17 games with the Comets this season, the defenseman has two goals and four assists for six points. Okhotiuk brings physicality and more confidence in this call-up.
"I'm just trying to get better every day like I always do. Now I've got this opportunity so I'll just play my game and show them what I can do best," Okhotiuk said following his first morning skate this season. "During (training) camp I didn't show my best, I wasn't myself, I think right now (I'm better) mentally, physically I feel ready."
For Okhotiuk and Kevin Bahl, tonight's game is a chance for the two players to show what they can do as both young defenseman are getting a huge opportunity.
"It's going to be a great test for them. Everybody wants their opportunity and when somebody goes down it's the next man in," said Ruff. "We need Bahl and Okhotiuk to play well for us. They've had experience in pre-season games, now they've both had NHL experience, they know what it's like. They have to keep their game simple, they have to be predictable, and just play well defensively."
"Good teams have that next man up mentality, that's what we've got to have," Erik Haula said following morning skate. "We've got guys who are going to play more minutes, good for them, they get a good opportunity to showcase themselves and be a big part of our team."
The opportunity isn't just limited to Bahl and Okhotiuk, the Devils will also need all of their players to step up in the absence of two key defensemen.
"We've talked about team defense, and we've been harping on that the whole time," Brendan Smith said Friday. "It's hard to replace guys like that, they've done a lot, they play heavy minutes, they make great plays so they'll be missed.
"At the end of the day that's what teams have to deal with," Smith said. "Everybody that wants to play more minutes, play more special teams, or whatever it is, this gives an opportunity for people to slide in. Door's open and you've got to take that opportunity. We're going to need a lot of guys to step in because it's not just one guy to fill that you need a lot of guys. That'll be a team area to make sure that we secure that."
TOUGHEST MATCHUP TO DATE
The top team in the NHL comes to town bringing a difficult test before the Devils get a few days off for Holiday Break.
"I think they're the best team in the league right now so great test for us," Erik Haula said following morning skate. "If you think they're going to have a let down because it's the last game before break that's not going to happen. So we're going to get their best game and we've got to respond and we have to be at our best."
For veteran defenseman Brendan Smith, the Devils need to execute better with detailed areas of the game and bring a complete game not only tonight but in every game.
"It's going to be a hell of a game and we're going to have to bring a great effort," said Smith. "I've preached this from day one, we just want to be hard to play against. If you do that you get your chance to get points and that's what we need to do and that comes out with block shots, with hits, getting above people, just the detailed stuff, and in my mind, starting on time.
"When we spot teams goals in the first shift or the first five minutes that makes it very difficult so if we can manage those areas … (if) we can dial that in, I think that'll give us the best chance to come up with some wins."
The Bruins are on the second half of a back-to-back and the Devils are playing their third game in four days. Both teams will have to battle through any fatigue and focus on their games to get the victory tonight.
"We know how good they are, we know they're four lines deep," Ruff said. "We know that any one of those lines can be dangerous offensively and we've got to take care of the puck and got to make sure we don't fuel their offense."
-Catherine Bogart, NewJerseyDevils.com

PREVIEW

DEVILS (22-9-2) vs. BRUINS (26-4-2)
TV: 7:00 p.m. ET; Televised on MSGSN 2
Head-to-Head
The Devils and Bruins face each other for the first time in the 2022-23 season. Forwards Erik Haula and Pavel Zacha will be facing their former teams for the first time (though they did play in a preseason game in Boston). It will be Zacha's first game back in New Jersey, the team that drafted him sixth overall in the 2015 NHL Draft.
Devils Team Scope:
The Devils snapped a six-game winless streak (0-5-1) with a 4-2 victory at Florida Wednesday night. Jesper Bratt scored twice for the Devils and Mackenzie Blackwood, making his first start in goal since Nov. 3, stopped 34 shots.
New Jersey is 20-2-2 when scoring three-or-more goals in a game this year. The club is led by Jack Hughes' 17 goals and 38 points. Hughes, who will appear in his 200th career game against Boston, has a four-game point streak (2g-2a).
Bratt paces second on the team with 33 points (12g-21a) while captain Nico Hischier has 13 goals and 29 points. Dougie Hamilton leads the defense with 26 (7g-19a).
Bruins Team Scope:
The Bruins sit atop the NHL's standings with 26 wins and 54 points. The Bruins have only lost twice in regulation in their past 20 contest (16-2-2). They sit four points ahead of Toronto, the second best record in the league, in the Atlantic Division.
Forward David Pastrnak has led the charge, leading the team in goals (22), assists (23) and points (45). Former Devil Taylor Hall pulls up next with 27 points (13g-14a). Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand both have 26 points. Goaltender Linus Ullmark has only lost one game in regulation all season long, posting an 18-1-1 record with a 1.89 goals-against average and .937 save percentage. Ullmark ranks No. 1 in the NHL in GAA and save percentage.
Boston is playing the Devils on the second half of back-to-back games, having defeated Winnipeg, 3-2, in Boston Thursday night.
By the Numbers:
Hughes has 35 goals and 80 points in 67 games played in the year 2022. He became just the fourth Devil in the past 20 years to record 80 points in a calendar year (Taylor Hall, 2018, 94 in 73 games played; Zach Parise, 2009, 92 in 85; Patrik Elias, 2006, 82 in 75). And Hughes missed 13 games with an injury during that span.
The Bruins (+54) and Devils (+29) rank Nos. 1 and 2 respectively in goal differential this year.
Injury Updates:
Devils
Jonathan Bernier (Hip - IR)
Ondrej Palat (Groin - IR)
Nathan Bastian (Upper-Body - IR)
Bruins
None