UNIONDALE, NY - The Devils have been playing much better hockey as of late and they're on the hunt for their third-straight win. But it won't come easy. The Devils are in Long Island to take on the stout Islanders tonight.
New Jersey has at least a point in six of their last eight outings and a record of 5-2-1 in that span of games. This stretch of success began with Alain Nasreddine's first victory as interim head coach in Arizona on Dec. 14. A major reason for this turnaround has been the consistency in line combinations and the spreading out of offense among them.
"I think there's an identity on each line," said Nasreddine. "As you can see, if you look at time on ice, we try to use all four lines for the most part. So there's a good flow there and the guys are fresh as they go on, but everyone's been contributing."
The Islanders have a point in seven of their last 10 games and have also won two in a row heading into tonight.
NO HUGHES, ZACHA UP, ROONEY IN
Unfortunately for the Devils, an upper-body injury to their highly talented rookie will throw a wrench in those plans to keep the lines consistent. Jack Hughes will not play tonight and he's officially day-to-day, per Nasreddine.
Pavel Zacha has been bumped up to play between Miles Wood and Wayne Simmonds. They aren't looking for Zacha to change anything from what he's been doing the last few games.
"It's touching the puck first and on the forecheck, being hard on it," said Nasreddine. "Using his quickness, his skills, and heaviness.
"When he decides to play down low and below the hashmark and hold onto pucks and be hard on them, he's tough to defend."
Zacha has three goals and 13 assists in 35 games this season.
With Hughes out, Kevin Rooney will step into the lineup for the first time since Dec. 27.
"It's an opportunity for someone to come in and make a difference," said Nasreddine. "And that will be Rooney tonight. He hasn't played in a couple of games now. So he'll be in on a line with Hayden and Boqvist. And so it's an opportunity for him."
LINEUP NOTES:
The projected lineup for the Devils based on line rushes is as follows:
Bratt-Hischier-Palmieri
Coleman-Zajac-Gusev
Wood-Zacha-Simmonds
Boqvist-Rooney-Hayden
Greene-Subban
Severson-Vatanen
Butcher-Mueller
Blackwood
Domingue
Mackenzie Blackwood is the projected starter for New Jersey and will face Semyon Varlamov on the other end.
-- Chris Wescott, NewJerseyDevils.com