The Devils face former teammates Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri when they battle the New York Islanders on Long Island.
You can watch on MSG+ 2 or listen on the Devils Hockey Network at 7 p.m. ET.

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS

PRE-GAME VIDEOS
Devils Minute with Amanda Stein
Player Interviews Pre-Game:
Foote
|
Severson
Pre-Game Media Availability with Head Coach Lindy Ruff
WATCH LIVE AFTER THE GAME
Chris Wescott and Matt Loughlin have post-game reaction, highlights and analysis immediately following the game
THE NUMBERS
Stats Comparison: NJD vs. NYI
Head-to-Head: NJD vs. NYI
Devils Player Stats
Islanders Player Stats
Media Game Notes
RECENT NEWS & BLOGS

RELEASE: Devils Sign Daws to 3-Yr ELC
BLOG: Smith Bombs Hughes' Interview
PROSPECT WATCH: Zetterlund Developing
RECENT VIDEOS
3-ON-3: Bahl's Debut
TOP PLAYS: Zetterlund Gets 3 As
DETAILS: Episode 6 - Trade Deadline
TV & RADIO
You can watch the game on MSG+ 2
You can listen to tonight's game on the Devils Hockey Network.

INSIDE THE DEVILS

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PRE-GAME STORY

NEWARK, N.J.- The Devils and Islanders will face each other for the seventh time this season Thursday night. But this game, unlike the previous six, will be much more emotional.
The Devils will be facing former teammates Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri for the first time since an early April trade sent them to the Islanders.
"It's going to be a little strange. Two great teammates, two great players for the organization," Devils head coach Lindy Ruff said. "The first time coming back and playing them always seems a little bit awkward. Both players are guys that played well for us. Obviously, they were good Devils players."
Zajac, 35, was New Jersey's first-round pick (20th overall) in 2004. He played 1,024 games in a Devils uniform while posting 550 points (202G-348A). Palmieri, 30, played the last six seasons in New Jersey, appearing in 397 games while notching 140 goals and 266 points.
"It's definitely a weird thing. You're going to be looking at them on the other side of the ice for the first time," said Devils defenseman Damon Severson, who played the past six-plus years with Zajac and Palmieri. "It'll be weird for a lot of us Devils that have been here for a while and have played with them. And different for them as well looking across the ice and seeing a Devils jersey not on them. I think it's going to be business as usual once we get out there playing."
And business as usual means doing whatever it takes to win a hockey game, even if it comes at the expense of good friends.
"I'll try to be bugging those guys every chance I can, try to knock them off their game a little bit," Severson said. "They're both such good professionals and such good players that we might say whatever to them and they might just block us out. We'll see how it goes.
"When we see those guys on the ice, we'll definitely be giving them a hard time."
Trades are part of the game. And it's very common for players to face former teammates. And it is also common that sometimes players face a longtime former teammate, as Ruff did during his 12-year NHL playing career.
"When I got traded to the Rangers (from Buffalo), within a week or two I faced teammates and good friends," he said. "Physically I had to get into 50-50 battles with a guy that I roomed with for years. It really wasn't a great feeling, but you put that aside. You're a hockey player and every situation on the ice you have to play for keeps. If that means you have to be physical, you have to knock somebody down, you have to win a battle, that's the guy you're going up against."
And who was that longtime roommate that Ruff had to battle?
"Mike Ramsey," Ruff answered. "We got into a battle and had lived together for a long time. We were able to laugh about it after the game was over and years later. He said he got the best of me, I said I got the best of him."
THE ISLES
The Devils are coming off of a come-from-behind 4-3 overtime victory against Boston Tuesday night. Now they turn their attention to another playoff-bound team in the Islanders. But New York is a much different team than Boston, one that relies less on skill and skating and more on structure and discipline.
"Their structure is excellent. (Head coach) Barry (Trotz) has that team playing really well," Ruff said. "He's got them in great shape. They're probably one of the most consistent teams when it comes to playing their game. They know what their game is. They frustrate you. They don't give you a lot of good chances. It's hard to get the net-front. We have to make sure that we try to stay on the inside and fight for second opportunities."
The Devils are a team that wants to play with speed. The Islanders are a team that wants to slow down that speed and create offense from their transition game. If New York successfully negates the Devils' speed, the pressure will be on New Jersey to remain patient and not try to force bad plays.
"We have to make sure we manage the puck well," Ruff said. "We have to make sure we don't put a lot of risk in our game, because when we put risk or try to pass it through people that can fuel their offense and fuel their rush game."
"We have to have attention to detail," Severson said. "They're really structured, really good at the way they play so it is going to be a real solid test to see if we can come out and match their intensity and match what they bring."
The Devils are 4-1-1 in their past six games, which includes the comeback win against Boston. Now they're hoping to continue building on that success against another playoff contender over this next two-game set Thursday and Saturday on Long Island.
"Confidence is huge, especially for young players. You want to go into the offseason feeling good about your game," Severson said. "You want to make sure mentally you're in a good place and when you come back next year you can build off of something.
"A big thing in this game is having a good, solid mental foundation in your game. If we can have three solid games going into the offseason that would make guys feel a lot better."
WHEN CALLED UPON
The Devils announced Thursday morning that they recalled forwards Nolan Foote and Tyce Thompson, who scored his fist pro goal last night, from Binghamton of the American Hockey League. With three games left in the regular-season schedule, it could be a final showing for the young prospects.
"It's an opportunity for both guys to get a look," Ruff said. "They've played games at the NHL level, at the American League level. They get to come back up and play again at the NHL level. It's another look for us."
Foote, a first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, will use this opportunity to show what he can bring to the Devils moving forward.
"It's definitely a tryout for next year to secure a spot here," he said. "I just have to come in, soak it all in, play my game, play the system right and play smart."
Both Foote, 20, and Thompson, 21, made their NHL debuts this season playing three and six games respectively, while each collected their first-career NHL goal.
LINEUP
Amanda Stein's Twitter account may be currently locked, but that didn't stop her from delivering the workflow from Thursday's morning skate…
Kuokkanen-Hughes-Sharangovich
Zacha-Hischier-Bratt
Foote-Boqvist-Studenic
Wood-McLeod-Bastian
Murray-Severson
Butcher-Carrick
Bahl-Tennyson
Blackwood
Wedgewood

PREVIEW

DEVILS (18-28-7) at NY ISLANDERS (31-16-6)
TV:MSG+ 2 AT 7 PM ET
Head-to-Head
The Devils and NY Islanders meet for the final two times this season Thursday and Saturday at New York. New Jersey is 1-4-1 against the Islanders on the season, including 0-2 on Long Island.
The game will be the first between the clubs since their early April blockbuster trade that saw forwards Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri sent to the Islanders in exchange for a 2021 first-round pick, fourth-round conditional pick and forwards A.J. Greer and Mason Jobst.
Rookie defenseman Ty Smith leads the Devils in series scoring with four assists/points. Janne Kuokkanen has a team-best three goals.
The Islanders Jordan Eberle (2G-3A) and Mathew Barzal (1G-4A) each have five points against the Devils, while Kieffer Bellows has chipped in three goals in three games.
Devils Team Scope:
The Devils are currently 4-1-1 in their past six games following a come-from-behind overtime victory against Boston Tuesday night. Forward Pavel Zacha bookended the scoring with the game's first goal (power play) and the overtime winner (delayed penalty).
New Jersey is coming off of a back-to-back split against Boston. Tuesday night's win was the last home game of the season for the Devils.
New Jersey will finish out the 2020-21 regular season with three road contests, starting with two on Long Island (Thursday, Saturday) and the season finale in Philadelphia (Monday). The Devils are 11-10-4 away from home this season.
Islanders Team Scope:
The Islanders are coming off of a disappointing set of back-to-back games against the Buffalo Sabres that saw them go 0-1-1 with a 4-2 loss Monday and 4-3 shootout loss Tuesday.
The Islanders made forwards Mathew Barzal, Matt Martin and Leo Komarov healthy scratches Tuesday night to keep them fresh for the playoffs. New York currently holds the No. 4 position in the East Division with 68 points, one behind third-place Boston.
Palmieri has three points (1G-2A) in 14 games since joining the Islanders. Zajac has two points (1G-1A) in 11 contests. Anthony Beauvillier has six goals in his last eight games with a point streak of four games (4G-1A). He posted a game-high seven shots Tuesday night.
By the Numbers:
Zacha scored his 14th and 15th goal of the season Tuesday night, setting a new-career season high. He also has a career-best 33 points in just 47 games this season.
Barzal's healthy scratched Tuesday night snapped a 284-consecutive games played streak that dated back to 2017-18.
Injury Update:
Devils: Johnsson (lower-body), Maltsev (lower-body), Siegenthaler (COVID-19 protocol), Smith (upper-body), Subban (COVID-19 protocol).
Islanders: Boychuk (eye), Lee (knee).