11/15 Devils at Stars: 3 Things To Know
by Julie Robenhymer / newjerseydevils.com
The Devils (8-3-3) are in Texas tonight to take on the Dallas Stars (6-6-4) at American Airlines Center and kick off a four-game Western Conference road trip. Here's what you need to know:
1) Michael Cammalleri is still on a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons. It's possible he rejoins the team during this trip, but it won't be tonight. Jon Merrill has not been taken off Injured Reserve, but is traveling with the team. Looks like the lineup will be the same as Saturday night, with Reid Boucher being the odd man out and Schneider in net. The Stars have six guys out of their lineup, including Jason Spezza and Patrick Sharp, both of whom look to return to the lineup this week, but not today, and are making do with call ups from the Texas Stars. They've been using a steady goalie rotation, as neither's numbers are particularly good, and tonight's starter has not yet been confirmed.
2) In their last game, the Stars blew a 3-1 lead and ended their five-game road trip with a 5-4 overtime loss to the Canucks, who hadn't been able to buy a goal for the better part of the past three weeks, which included a nine-game losing streak. The Stars could be slow tonight because they're tired, with yesterday being their only day off in ten days, or they could be fired up to kick off a four-game homestand tonight. Either way, the Devils will look to dictate the pace of the game and take advantage of their opportunities.
3) While New Jersey looks to extend their win streak to five and get their road record (2-3-2) back above .500, they will need to continue the offensive outbursts they manufactured last week with strong puck possession and improve their special teams as neither the power play or penalty kill are as effective as they'd like. Of particular note for tonight's game, the Stars are led by Tyler Seguin, who is tied for the league lead with 20 points, including nine on the power play, and is on a five-game point streak.
Listen in to the Devils Tailgate podcast at 1 p.m. and join Ken Daneyko and me for the Pregame Show on Facebook Live at 7:15 p.m. Puck drops at 8:30 p.m. on MSG+, The One Jersey Network and WFAN.