Pluses, minuses for Bruins-Devils; Sabres-Avalanche

NHL Network and ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes will offer his thoughts for big games each week throughout the season.

The Boston Bruins (18-5-3) visit the New Jersey Devils (14-11-1) at Prudential Center on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, MSGSN, TNT). Then the Buffalo Sabres (12-14-3) play the Colorado Avalanche (17-9-2) at Ball Arena (10 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT, ALT, SN).

Here's my breakdown of the games.

Bruins

Pluses: Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark are, in my opinion, the best goalie tandem in the NHL. There's no egos there, just the desire to win, which they have both done very well. Beyond the star players, they have forward depth with players like Pavel Zacha, Charlie McAvoy, James van Riemsdyk and Trent Frederic contributing. I've also liked the play of rookie forward Matthew Poitras and rookie defenseman Mason Lohrei. You can tell after last season when they set NHL records of 65 wins and 135 points but lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they are determined to not let that happen again.

Minuses: I know they're 5-4-1 in their past 10 games, but they are still one of the best teams in the NHL and don't really let losses snowball, which is why they've managed to have the record and regular-season success they have the past two seasons.

Devils

Pluses: The biggest thing for the Devils is their captain, Nico Hischier, being healthy. Since he returned from injury, they are 6-2-0. Hischier has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in that span. Jack Hughes is one of the best players on the planet and third in the NHL with 1.57 points per game, even though he's been held without a point in his past three. His brother, Luke Hughes, is tied with Columbus Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli and Minnesota Wild forward Marco Rossi for second among rookies in points (16), trailing only Chicago Blackhawks phenom Connor Bedard (24). This is a big game for the Devils, who have lost six straight against the Bruins over the past two seasons.

Minuses: Erik Haula missed a 4-1 loss at the Oilers on Sunday with an upper-body injury. If he doesn't play, it would big a big blow. The forward adds so much to this team with his offense, defense, face-off prowess (54.8 percent) and penalty killing (2:05 short-handed per game, second among New Jersey forwards behind Tomas Nosek's 2:08 per game). The Devils are also in a bind without defenseman Dougie Hamilton, out long term with a torn pectoral muscle. They lost veterans Ryan Graves and Damon Severson in the offseason and have relied on Hughes, Kevin Bahl and a younger group at the position this season, which does have its growing pains. New Jersey is also 5-6-1 at home.

Sabres

Pluses: Devon Levi has played well since his recall from Rochester of the American Hockey League on Dec. 5, going 2-0-1 and allowing five goals on 86 shots. Tage Thompson is back from an upper-body injury and had a point in each of his three games since returning prior to being held off the score sheet in a 5-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Monday. We know how important Thompson is to the Sabres; he led them with 47 goals and 94 points last season. Buffalo also has two of the best young defensemen in the NHL in Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin. Each were chosen with the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft.

Minuses: Are the Sabres willing to commit to defending? Not scoring, not attacking but defending. I love what the offense brings to the table, but they have to lock it down defensively to win games and that is often the difference between teams that qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs and teams that don't. This is partly why they've lost five of their past seven games. Buffalo also needs quicker starts; they have allowed 36 goals in the first period, most of any team in the NHL, and have a minus-16 differential in the first, tied with the Anaheim Ducks for last in the League.

Avalanche

Pluses: They showed me a lot in their come-from-behind 6-5 win against the Calgary Flames on Monday by scoring three times in the third period. The offense will always be there; they've scored 99 goals and are tied with the Devils for fourth in goals per game (3.54). Despite the recent stretch, Alexandar Georgiev is still a top goalie in the NHL. His 14 wins lead the League after he tied Linus Ullmark of the Bruins for the lead with 40 last season.

Minuses: They're 2-3-2 in their past seven games while allowing at least four goals in six of them. The power play is 14.3 percent in that time and the penalty kill is 71.4 percent. They're without forward Artturi Lehkonen, who has been sidelined since Nov. 9 with a neck injury. He's one of those glue guys who isn't a star but does so much for them on both sides of the puck.