DEVILS (13-19-6) vs. BRUINS (24-7-9)
TV: 1:00 PM ET; Televised on MSG
Head-to-Head:
Tonight's game is the third and final meeting the two teams this season.
Boston won the prior two games, 3-0 in Boston early in the season and 5-1 at Prudential Center in mid-November.
Devils team scope:
The Devils have picked up points in five of their last seven games (4-2-1) and in three straight.
Last time out, they played a strong game against the Ottawa Senators ending in a 4-3 overtime victory.
Kyle Palmieri leads the team in scoring with 27 points in 38 games and leads with 15 goals. Nikita Gusev and Nico Hischier are tied for second with 22 points.
Bruins team scope:
The Bruins are battling for top spot in the NHL. They are two points behind Washington for top spot honors, sitting a point behind the Blues and in third place in overall League standings.
David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand each have 58 points, tied for Bruins team lead. They're also tied for third in the entire NHL in scoring.
Recently, the Bruins have struggled a little by their standards. They've won their last three in a row, including a big 7-3 win over the Capitals, but prior to that they only won one out of nine games (1-4-4) which included four straight losses in regulation. Prior to that, they had only three regulation losses all season long.
By the Numbers:
The Bruins have been outstanding this season but they could be even better if they had a stronger record in overtime and in the shootout. Particularly, in the shootout where they're 0-5. Only one other team has five shootout losses and that's Philadelphia (four wins, five losses).
In the month of December, the Devils leading scorers through 13 games have been Palmieri (6 goals, 11 points), Nikita Gusev (9 assists, 11 points) and Sami Vatanen (10 assists, 11 points).
With 20 points over the entire season, Vatanen ranks 34th in the NHL in defense scoring but if he continues to stay at his near point-per-game pace, it wouldn't be long before he started to climb up the charts. He's only six points from 13th in the NHL and 11 points from cracking the top five in D scoring.
Injury Updates:
Devils - Matt Tennyson (lower body) is on IR, Will Butcher is day-to-day
Bruins - Kevan Millar (knee) is on IR; Karson Kuhlman (shoulder) is on IR; Charlie McAvoy (upper body) is day-to-day; Torey Krug (upper body) is on IR; Connor Clifton (upper body) is day-to-day
-- Marc Ciampa, NewJerseyDevils.com