Hall has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in the past five games. The Devils have lost two straight after starting the season 4-0-0. The Predators had their five-game win streak end in a 5-4 loss to the San Jose Sharks at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday. Goalie Juuse Saros will make his third straight start in place of Pekka Rinne, who sustained an undisclosed injury against the Calgary Flames on Friday.
Players to watch
Devils right wing Kyle Palmieri has eight points (seven goals, one assist) in six games. Predators defenseman P.K. Subban has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 21 games against the Devils.
They said it
"You know it's going to be tough (against New Jersey), it's going to get ugly. I expect a grinding game, hand-to-hand combat, as guys battle and jockey for position in front of the net. You have to be willing to play a 200-foot game." -- Predators defenseman P.K. Subban "We need to improve a few things. Our emotional investment that we need to play with and the competitiveness needs to be stronger. We can't have any passengers. We need to be a collective group that plays a strong and be more mentally engaged in our attention to detail." -- Devils coach John Hynes
Hamhuis was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. ... Grimaldi was recalled from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League and will make his season debut. ... Zajac could return to the lineup after missing one game with a lower-body injury. ... Bratt participated in an optional skate, wearing a face shield, for the first time since he was injured Oct. 4.
Stat pack
Forsberg (six goals, four assists), Johansen (two goals, seven assists) and Arvidsson (six goals, three assists) have combined for 28 points (14 goals, 14 assists) and a plus-27 rating in nine games. ... The Devils have scored a power-play goal in every game this season, and rank seventh in the league with the man advantage at 28.6 percent (8-for-28). ... Boyle will play his 700th career NHL game.
