Devils Finish Homestand Against Islanders | PREVIEW

New Jersey finishes its post-Thanksgiving three-game homestand Tuesday against NY Islanders at Prudential Center. Puck drop is 7 p.m. ET.

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

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

PRE-GAME STORY

The Devils held an optional morning skate Tuesday ahead of facing the New York Islanders. The only participants were goalies Vitek Vanecek and Akria Schmid and forwards Ondrej Palat, Curtis Lazar and Nico Hischier.

Head coach Lindy Ruff met with the media after the skate…

Lineup/Injury updates

Devils forward Erik Haula left Saturday’s 7-2 win against Buffalo after a period of play. He’s dealing with a lower-body injury and won’t be in the lineup against the Islanders.

“Progressing,” Ruff said of Haula’s health. “In the coming days we’ll see where he’s at.”

The Devils are expected to get Lazar back. He suffered a Charlie Horse against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday and did not play Saturday.

“He is feeling better,” Ruff said. “He practiced with us yesterday. It looks like he’s good to go.”

Ruff also confirmed that forward Timo Meier (lower-body) skated on his own.

The Devils also announced that forward Max Willman was re-assigned to Utica of the American Hockey League. 

Continued Response

The Devils suffered a 2-1 setback to Columbus on Friday. They responded with their most dominant performance of the season in a 7-2 victory against the Sabres. Ruff liked the win against Buffalo, but the key is to keep it going.

“It was a good answer to a poor performance,” Ruff said of the Buffalo response game. “Now, we have to find a level of consistency to our game that allows us to win every night.”

4^th Line’s a Charm

The Devils have had many different configurations on the fourth line this season. But regardless of who has been on the line, the one constant has been the unit effectiveness.

“They’ve had a lot of O-zone time, generated opportunities. Tough line to play against,” Ruff said. “A lot of times the fourth line is penalty killers and physical guys, get into bodies. It’s given us some grit, it gave us some real good O-zone. It was tough to play against if you look at it from the other team’s standpoint.”

PREVIEW

DEVILS (9-9-1) vs. ISLANDERS (8-6-6)

Head-to-Head

The Devils and Islanders meet for the second time this season, and first time in New Jersey. In the previous matchup on the Island on Oct. 20, the Devils recorded a 5-4 overtime victory. The Devils scored four power-play goals in the game and while Jack Hughes tallied the OT winner. Hughes finished the game with two goals and four points. Jesper Bratt had three assists. Bo Horvat and Brock Nelson each scored two goals for the Islanders.

Devils Team Scope:

The Devils are coming off their best performance of the entire season in a 7-2 victory against the Buffalo Sabres.

Aided by the return of their captain, Nico Hischier, New Jersey scored the game’s opening four goals to start the route. Hischier, playing his first game in a month, scored a goal in the win. As did Alexander Holtz, Tyler Toffoli (2), Ondrej Palat, Dawson Mercer and Luke Hughes. Eight players posted two points in the contest. The win snapped a three-game losing streak, and a stretch of going 1-6.

Jesper Bratt is the team’s leading scorer with 25 points on eight goals and 25 points. Bratt’s 17 assists tie Jack Hughes for the team lead. Toffoli leads the team with 11 goals. Defenseman Dougie Hamilton paces the blue line with 16 points on five goals and 11 assists.

Islanders Team Scope:

The Islanders struggled to start the month of November, opening with an eight-game winless streak (0-4-4). The club followed that with three straight wins before a 1-0 shootout loss to Philadelphia on Saturday. Goalie Ilya Sorokin stopped all 40 shots against despite taking the L in the shootout.

Brock Nelson leads the team with 10 goal and 16 points. Mathew Barzal also has 16 points on five goals and 11 assists. The Islanders have five guys with six or more goals on the season. Sorokin, the former Vezina winner, is 5-3-5 on the year. Though his goals-against average is 2.95 (a career high), his save percentage is .917. So, he is seeing a lot of rubber.

By the Numbers:

The Devils allowed three shots in both the first and second periods (six total) to Buffalo Saturday.

Bratt recorded his 300^th and 301^st points (both assists) against Buffalo. He’s only the third player in franchise history to be drafted by the Devils and record 300 points (Aaron Broten, 469; Bruce Driver, 399).

Luke Hughes’ four multi-point games lead all NHL rookies this season.

Injuries:

Devils

Meier (lower-body)
Nosek (upper-body)
Lazar (lower-body)

Islanders

Aho (undisclosed)
Martin (upper-body)
Pelech (lower-body)