NEW JERSEY DEVILS (30-19-6) vs. GOLDEN KNIGHTS (31-17-6)

New Jersey hosts the Vegas Golden Knights for their first meeting this season. The Devils are celebrating their Black History Night, the organization's fourth Hockey is for Everyone night, during Thursday's game. Tickets are available here.

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

Read below for your game preview and pre-game story below. Tonight's game is presented by Cutting Edge Ice Academy.

MORNING SKATE RECAP

NEWARK, N.J. - The Devils will be without defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler when New Jersey hosts the Vegas Golden Knights Thursday night. Head coach Sheldon Keefe gave an injury update on the defenseman who suffered an injury against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Tuesday.

“Still being evaluated,” Keefe shared. “Going to see another specialist just to get a better idea of exactly where we’re at in the timeline and such, but clearly not going to be available here this week.”

New Jersey recalled Simon Nemec from the Utica Comets Thursday morning and he will play tonight. Nemec started the season with New Jersey, playing the first nine games of the year, before he was sent down to Utica. With the Comets, Nemec has played 32 games, scoring five goals and contributing 17 assists for 22 total points. Nemec competed in the AHL’s All-Star Challenge earlier this week, making it a busy few days for the defenseman.

“We need a guy, we’re very fortunate to have somebody of his talent available to us,” Keefe said on Nemec. “Rather than him being here, in our mind, he’s in a lot of ways always has been the seventh defenseman here. Just so happens that he’s been in Utica and benefiting from playing a lot and the extra practice time, all the things that come outside of the NHL, so I feel like he’s benefitted from that.”

In addition to the increased playing time and practices that Keefe mentioned, Nemec has worked hard to find his game after a tough start to the year with Utica.

“I had a really tough start there but I’ve found my way now,” Nemec explained after morning skate. “Biggest thing was consistency, what I’ve done the last 15, 20 games. It’s been better than it was.

“I feel like both areas, offensive zone, and defensive zone too,” Nemec continued. “I just want to be a really good two-way defenseman. I think (I have) been in the last couple of games.”

For the young defenseman, he’s honored to have the opportunity to be back in New Jersey.

“It means a lot, because we have so many good players (in Utica),” Nemec said on being called up. “But I feel ready for this opportunity, and the organization feels (that) too. I just want to show how I improved this season in the AHL, I just want to be myself.”

With Nemec in the lineup, the defensive pairings have changed around. Here's the Devils workflow from morning skate:

Brenden Dillon and Dougie Hamilton were reunited in morning skate, while Brett Pesce and Johnathan Kovacevic were paired together. Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec, who played together last season, were paired together Thursday morning. Pesce will move over to the left side, something he hasn't done in several years, but is up for the challenge.

"It's just different," Pesce said about switching sides. "Just pivoting, and offensive zone, and you're just on your backhand a lot. Obviously it'll take a little time, hopefully not too much. I try to keep the game simple anyway, so that's what I'll try to do."

Shifting pairings isn't the only way the defensive core will be impacted, they'll all have to step up to fill the void left by Siegenthaler's strong play.

“Heck of a player,” Pesce said on Siegenthaler. “I didn’t really know much about him until I played here but he’s so steady and so solid, and he does a lot of heavy lifting for us. It’s a big hole that we’re going to need to fill and everyone else is going to have to step up.”

“He’s one of those guys that does many, many things that maybe don’t show up on the score sheet, but it ends up in us having two points,” Cotter said on Siegenthaler. “It’s a huge loss. It’s kind of a little wind taken out of the sail, but that’s what happens with teams and we now have Nemo up. He’s a really skilled defensemen so for him to get another kick at the can is awesome to see. Times like this, guys get new opportunities to be able to step up so I think we should be alright.”

Facing His Former Team

Paul Cotter was traded to the New Jersey Devils from the Vegas Golden Knights last off-season and this will be the forward’s first time facing his former team in the NHL.

“It’s weird,” Cotter said about facing Vegas. “I saw a few of them poking their heads out during morning skate. That’s definitely going to be weird seeing their lineup, (it) was different. But at the end of the day they know my style of play, they know I’m coming so that’ll be cool to play against those guys.”

Finishing the Week Strong

The Devils have two games left before the Four Nations break, tonight against the Golden Knights, and Saturday in Montreal against the Canadiens. With four wins in their last six games, New Jersey is building momentum and stringing together better performances. Tonight will be a critical game to win and pick up points after a tough stretch in January.

“We need two points,” Pesce said on today’s game. “Our game hasn’t quite been there for quite some time now, or at least where we would like it to be. These next few games are so important for us to grab points and find our identity again and get our confidence going before the break.”

Hischier Injury Update

Head Coach Sheldon Keefe also gave an injury update on Captain Nico Hischier following morning skate:

“He’s back on the ice. He’s not going to be available at this point this week,” Keefe said. “The way it’s trending it would be a surprise if he wasn’t available when we return from the break.”

*Read more here*.

THE SCOOP

The Devils enter their final home game before the Four Nations break fresh off a seven-round shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday night. Timo Meier's shooutout goal sealed the victory and Nico Daws stopped five of seven shots in the shootout. Jack Hughes scored twice in regulation, Jesper Bratt picked up a pair of assists, and Ondrej Palat also had an assist in the win. Daws, in his first start this season, stopped 25 of the 27 shots he faced. The Devils have picked up points in four of their last six games, going 4-2-0 in that stretch.

Thursday ahead of morning skate, the Devils announced that Nico Hischier was placed on the Injured Reserve list. New Jersey also announced the recall of defenseman Simon Nemec from the Utica Comets. Nemec has five goals and 22 total points in 32 games for the Comets.

Captain Nico Hischier was on a roll this season before suffering an undisclosed injury on Jan. 25. His 24 goals still lead the Devils while his 43 points are third. Jesper Bratt leads the Devils with 45 assists and his 61 points are second on the team. Jack Hughes leads the Devils with 63 points and his 23 goals and 40 assists are both second on the team. Jacob Markstrom, the Devils starting goaltender, is out with an MCL sprain. As a result, Jake Allen and Nico Daws have each played in recent games with Daws getting his first start against the Penguins on Tuesday. Allen has played 19 games this season and has a 8-10-1 record. He's averaging 2.68 goals against and has a .905 save percentage. The Devils final game before the Four Nations break is Saturday in Montreal against the Canadiens.

The Golden Knights have lost four straight games, most recently suffering a 2-1 loss to the New York Islanders, Tuesday night. However, in their last five games, Vegas has points in three of those contests. In only his second game with the Golden Knights, Brandon Saad scored Vegas' lone goal, which tied the game 1-1 in the first eight minutes of the third period. However, Brock Nelson's goal three minutes later would be the game winner for the home team. Ilya Samsonov stopped 12 of the 14 shots he faced in the loss.

Jack Eichel leads the Golden Knights in assists (48) and points (66), while his 18 goals are third on the team. Pavel Dorofeyev leads Vegas with 22 goals and he has 35 total points which is fifth on the team. Adin Hill and Ilya Samsonov make up Vegas' goaltender tandem with Hill playing the majority of the 54 games. Through 33 games played, Hill has a 19-10-4 record where he's averaging 2.69 goals against per game and has a .900 save percentage. Samsonov has played 20 games and has a 12-6-2 record. He has a 2.74 goals against average and a .899 save percentage. The Golden Knights' game against the Devils is the third game of a four-game East Coast road trip that wraps up in Boston, against the Bruins, on Saturday.

WHO’S HOT

Devils: Alternate Captain Jack Hughes is entering Thursday's game riding a six-game points streak and a three-game goal streak with eight points in that span (5G, 3A). His 23 goals on the season are second on the team and he is only one goal away from tying Captain Nico Hischier's team-leading 24 goals. Hughes has points in 33 of the 55 games he's played this season.

Golden Knights: Jack Eichel has 12 points in his last 10 games, seven of which are goals. The forward leads the Golden Knights in assists (48) and points (66) through 53 games, which has him averaging over a point per game this season.

INJURIES

Devils: Hischier (undisclosed), Markstrom (MCL sprain, out 4-6 weeks), Hatakka (shoulder, IR)

Golden Knights: Schwindt (lower-body, IR), Karlsson (lower-body, IR)

REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS

• Feb. 6 vs. Vegas
• March 2 at Vegas

GAME NOTES

• It'll be a matchup of top power plays as both the Devils and the Golden Knights have top-5 power play units (Vegas: 2nd, 28.5%; New Jersey: 4th, 27.4%). Pavel Dorofeyev, who leads Vegas in goals, also leads the team in power play goals with 10. Stefan Noesen and Nico Hischier are tied for the Devils' team-lead with nine each.
• Both the Devils and the Golden Knights have two players with 20 or more goals and eight skaters who have 10 or more goals. Nico Hischier (22) and Jack Hughes (21) have crossed the 20 goal benchmark for New Jersey while Pavel Dorofeyev (22) and Tomas Hertl (20) have reached the same benchmark for Vegas.
• The Devils are coming off only their second shootout this season, winning their most recent on Tuesday, but losing the first one, 2-1, against the Florida Panthers on Jan. 14. Devils forward Paul Cotter continues to be one of the strongest threats in these situations, as he's 2-for-2 this season in shootouts.
• When it comes to shots the Devils and Golden Knights are in the top-10 for both shots for and limiting shots against in the NHL. New Jersey averages 29.4 shots per game (9th) while Vegas averages 30.6 shots per game (4th). The Devils allow their opponents 25.9 shots on goal on average which is 3rd in the NHL, while the Golden Knights' 26.7 shots against on average is 6th in the league.
• Both teams are limiting their opponents to some of the fewest goals per game in the NHL. The Devils, on average, allow 2.51 goals per game (4th) while the Golden Knights allow 2.76 (9th).