NEW JERSEY DEVILS (16-11-1) vs. BOSTON BRUINS (16-13-0)

New Jersey visit the Bruins in Boston and TD Garden.

Read below for your game preview presented by Cutting Edge Ice Academy and check back for the pre-game story.

MORNING SKATE RECAP

BOSTON, Mass. - The Devils did not hold a morning skate due to playing on back-to-back nights. Head coach Sheldon Keefe met with the media a few hours before puck drop. Here’s his commentary…

On his assessment of the Devils’ third period against Vegas:

I like the way we started the third. I think it was continuation of the second. Then we got a power play that let us down. I think it really took away our momentum. There’s enough good things there to give you a reason for optimism for us to bounce back here today. But the most important thing is for us to clear our minds here today. Come in with no baggage, a fresh start, let’s get back to work and play a good road game.

On the difficulty of clearing your mind:

That’s the greatest challenge. (Losses) start to mount and start to stack up and it becomes heavy. That’s the messaging. That’s my job as a coach is to help clear the guys’ minds. And get out and focus on having a good first period and building off of that. Focus on the process of how we want to play and not on the end result, whether that’s being a goal or winning a hockey game, we have to start a good process. If you’re able to keep that perspective, looking back at our last couple games, two of the best teams in the league and it’s 0-0 games or 1-0 games. You’re right there. You have some confidence that the offense will come and you have to keep with it.

On what he’s seeing in the power play:

It’s a symptom of some of the 5-on-5 stuff. It tends to mount. Specifically, yesterday, we lost the first three faceoffs that we had on the power play. Right away that puts the penalty at a bit of an advantage of getting time on the clock and now you have to execute on an entry. It starts to mount. You’re on home ice and things get a little heavy. The fans get on you and it gets even harder. Our power play has been really good for a long stretch of the season. It’s been a couple games where it hasn’t been good enough. It could have been a difference at key times. It also got a couple for us in the game prior to that. Lots of reasons to clear our minds and get back to work today.

On Jake Allen starting:

That’s right, yeah.

THE SCOOP

After a tough stretch at home over the last week, the Devils are on the road for the next two games. It starts with a stop in Boston on Saturday night, followed by a visit to the Ottawa Senators in Ottawa on Tuesday. New Jersey was shut out in their previous two games; once to Dallas and Friday night against the Golden Knights. It was the first time the Devils had been shut out in consecutive home games since Dec. 23 and 26 in 2008. Although he hasn't scored in 14 games, Jesper Bratt continues to be a catalyst for his teammates, racking up assists and leading the team in assists (21) and points (26).

On Friday night, forward Angus Crookshank made his season debut with New Jersey after being recalled from the Utica Comets. New Jersey had not been carrying an extra forward heading into the back-to-back weekend. Jacob Markstrom started Friday's game against Vegas, setting up the expectation that Jake Allen will play the second half of the back-to-back against the Bruins.

The Devils fell out of a playoff spot after their loss to Vegas, but have the opportunity to jump right back into one with a victory in Boston. The NHL standings are as close as ever, even before teams have reached the 30-game mark. The Devils could potentially be right back at second in the division with two points earned in Boston.

The Boston Bruins are coming off a 5-2 victory against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. The Bruins have a 10-5-0 record on their home ice and sit second in the Atlantic Division with 32 points.

Forward Morgan Geekie has exploded offensively for the Bruins this season, on track to reach career-high numbers. Geekie leads the Bruins with 21 goals through 29 games, and his 31 points also rank first on the team. Forward Alex Steeves has five goals in his past five games. He started the season with their AHL affiliate, before playing the last 13 games with Boston. He has eight points (six goals, two assists) over his 13 games.

Jeremy Swayman carries the load in net for Boston and has started 18 games this season, posting 11 wins and seven losses. He shares the net with Joonas Korpisalo who has 11 starts and a 5-6-0 record.

WHO’S HOT

Devils: Both Timo Meier and Nico Hischier were on some offensive tears before the club was shut out in its previous two games. They lead the charge every night. Hischier has six goals in his last eight games, while Meier has five in his last eight.

Bruins: If you’re going to score some goals as a team, you need those players to set you up and that’s what Elias Lindholm has been doing as of late with seven assists in his last five games, including three against St. Louis on Thursday.

INJURIES

Devils:

J. Hughes (finger)
Pesce (upper body)
Dadonov (undisclosed)
Kovacevic (knee)
MacEwen (undisclosed)
McLaughlin (undisclosed)

Bruins:

Pastrnak (unknown)
Callahan (lower-body)
Jokiharju (undisclosed)
McAvoy (face)
Blumel (lower-body)

REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS

• Dec. 6 at Bruins
• Mar. 16 vs. Bruins
• Apr. 14 at Bruins

GAME NOTES

• Timo Meier will play his 650th NHL game on Saturday night.
• The Bruins are neck-and-neck when it comes to special teams. On the power play, the Bruins are just slightly ahead of the Devils, with a 25.3 percent efficiency, just ahead of New Jersey’s 24.3 percent. While on the penalty kill, the two teams are virtually tied in efficiency at 82.9 percent.
• After New Jersey's two straight shutouts, it's been 128:09 minutes since the club last scored a goal.