Devils Finish Back-to-Back Against Coyotes

The Arizona Coyotes are coming to town as the Devils wrap up a home back-to-back Friday night. Check back following Lindy Ruff’s 4:45 p.m. media availability for your pre-game story and latest game time updates.

• Limited tickets still available for tonight's game

PRE-GAME STORY

With playing on back-to-back nights, the Devils did not hold a morning skate Friday ahead of hosting the Arizona Coyotes. Head coach Lindy Ruff met with the media prior to the contest. Here are some of the highlights from his conversation.

LINEUP CHANGE

The Devils will play forward Nathan Bastian against the Coyotes, Ruff confirmed.

BACK-TO-BACK

The Devils open the season with a rare back-to-back home sequence. It was something that Ruff welcomed.

“I think it’s nice to get into it. It’s pretty spread out in the preseason,” Ruff said. “To play back-to-back at this time of the year is a good thing.”

The Devils finished 9-3-0 last season on the second night of back-to-back games.

“Part of that is the depth of our lineup. Even last year we could roll four lines and didn’t overtax a lot of people,” Ruff said.

INJURY NOTES

When asked about forward Nolan Foote’s upper-body injury, Ruff responded: “All I know is it’s going to take some time. I don’t know what that amount of time is. That’s all I’ve got for you.”

COOL CUSTOMER

The Devils will face forward Logan Cooley, the third-overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. He led Minnesota (NCAA) in scoring last year with 22 goals and 60 points in 39 games.

“All these young guys have incredible skill,” Ruff said. “You have to respect that knowing that these guys can be dangerous young players.”

--Sam Kasan, Devils beat reporter

PREVIEW

DEVILS (1-0-0) vs. COYOTES (0-0-0)

Head-to-Head

This is the first of two matchups between the Devils and Coyotes this season, with the second on Mar. 16 in the desert. Last season, New Jersey won both games: first a 4-2 win on Nov. 12 at Prudential Center before a 5-4 overtime win on the road in early March.

Devils Team Scope:

The Devils entered the 2023-24 season as one of the top teams and a group many are expecting to make a deep run in the playoffs. New Jersey in turn is focused on improving every game and earning every win this season. The high expectations from other NHL teams is something this team has worked hard to have according to forward Jesper Bratt. This season, the Devils will be the hunted and will focus on showing up strong against every opponent, no matter where they are in the standings.

New Jersey started this season with a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings, Thursday night, in the team's home opener. Jack Hughes scored twice while Dougie Hamilton and Erik Haula added one goal each. Jonas Siegenthaler picked up three assists in the win with helpers on all tallies except Hughes' first goal. Vitek Vanecek stopped 32 of the 35 shots he faced, conceding two Detroit power play goals and one even strength tally.

The majority of the Devils young but experienced core returned this season while New Jersey made some off-season moves to add depth and veteran experience. Tyler Toffoli joins the Devils top-six bringing leadership, Stanley Cup Championship experience, and a high level of compete. Tomas Nosek, Colin Miller, and Chris Tierney bring depth to the lineup as well. The Devils saw other returning players buy-in with both Timo Meier and Jesper Bratt signing long-term deals to remain in New Jersey.

Coyotes Team Scope:

The Coyotes open their 2023-24 season against the Devils, in the first of four road games to start the year. Arizona had the unique opportunity to play some preseason hockey Down Under as the team played two games in Australia against the Los Angeles Kings. The Coyotes split the series, winning the first game 5-3, before falling 3-2 the next night.

The preseason schedule was packed from the first day for Arizona as they had three games on Sept. 23: one in Melbourne, AU with the other two against the St. Louis Blues, one at home and one on the road. The Coyotes picked up two of three wins that night before losing both split squad games the next day. Arizona dropped the next two preseason games against the Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks, before wrapping things up with two wins over the Ducks.

There are some new faces on the Arizona roster including Jason Zucker, Alex Kerfoot, Sean Durzi, Matt Dumba, and Travis Dermott. Troy Stecher and Nick Bjugstad return to the Coyotes bringing back even more depth to the team. Rookie Logan Cooley is expected to make his NHL debut, as the 2022 Third-Overall pick has turned heads in preseason.

By the Numbers:

Dougie Hamilton and home openers: a match made in goal heaven. The Devils defenseman has scored in each of the last three home openers at Prudential Center.

Arizona forward Clayton Keller led the Coyotes last year in all scoring categories. With 37 goals, 49 assists, and 86 points, Keller had 28 more points than the second highest scorer on the team.

Injuries:

Devils
None

Coyotes
None

--Catherine Bogart, NJD.tv