Devils Visit Utah, Completing Two-Game Road Trip | PREVIEW

NEW JERSEY DEVILS (19-14-1) at UTAH MAMMOTH (17-16-3)

The Devils wrap up a two-game road trip with a game against the Utah Mammoth.

Read below for your game preview presented by Integrate Comfort Systems and check back for the pre-game story.

MORNING SKATE RECAP

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - Check back following the Devils morning skate around 2:00 p.m. ET.

THE SCOOP

The Devils are looking to sweep their short two-game road trip through the Western United States after winning on Wednesday night in Vegas, 2-1 in a shootout.

Heading into Thursday's action, the club was sitting in the second wild card spot, two points behind the Islanders for second in the Metro Division. Devils are 3-8-0 in their last 11 games but have won three of their last five. Defenseman Brett Pesce returned to the lineup on Wednesday to help provide some stability to a beat-up blueline.

Simon Nemec remains out with a lower-body injury. He and Luke Hughes are tied for the team lead in points among blueliners with 18. Nemec is fifth on the entire team in goals with seven.

The trio of Nico Hischier, Dawson Mercer and Jack Hughes lead the team in goals with 10. Hughes has been out since mid-November but his 10 goals in 17 games remains atop the team's leaderboard.

Utah is tied for the last wild card spot in the Western Conference. After starting off the season well, they are 5-8-0 in their last 13. However, they have won three of their last four including a gutsy 4-1 win Wednesday in Detroit in the second half of a back-to-back.

Nick Schmaltz is the team's leading scorer with 31 points in 36 games while Dylan Guenther leads in goals with 16 in the same number of contests. Logan Cooley is currently out with an injury and he's sorely missed, having scored 14 timees in 29 games this season.

Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka leads the NHL in wins with 15. He's also second in time on ice, having been between the pipes for 1568:16, behind only Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers.

WHO’S HOT

Devils: Connor Brown has had his best offensive stretch for the team. The team's lone goal scorer on Wednesday in Vevegas, Brown has two goals and three assists for five points in the last five Devils games.

Mammoth: Dylan Guenther has been on fire for the Mammoth with five goals in his last five games. Nick Schmaltz has four assists in that time to lead the team in helpers.

INJURIES

Devils:
Nemec (lower body)
Gritsyuk (upper body)
J. Hughes (finger)
Dadonov (upper body)
Kovacevic (knee)
McLaughlin (undisclosed)
MacEwen (upper body)

Mammoth:
Cooley (lower body)
Kerfoot (abdomen)

REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS

• Dec. 19 at Utah
• Jan. 3 vs. Utah

GAME NOTES

• Devils won both meetings last season, winning 3-1 on March 1 at Salt Lake City and 3-0 in October at Prudential Center, handing Utah its first loss in franchise history.
• Utah's power play is ranked 28th in the NHL at 15.5% but their penalty kill is very solid at 83.2% to rank sixth.
• The Mammoth allow the second-fewest shots against in the NHL at 25.1 per game, second only to Carolina.
• Former Devils defenseman John Marino is having a strong season after missing most of last year due to injury. He has 17 points and is +14 in 36 games.
• Another former Devil, Vitek Vanecek, has had a bit of a tough time with the Mammoth. He's 2-7-1 with a 2.99 goals-against average and .873 save percentage.