Devils at Jets preview
Gusev back in New Jersey lineup; Winnipeg opens four-game homestand
by Darrin Bauming / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
DEVILS (3-5-4) at JETS (8-7-0)
8 p.m. ET; TSN3, MSG, NHL.TV
The Game
Nikita Gusev will return to the lineup for the New Jersey Devils against the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place on Tuesday after the forward was a healthy scratch for three straight games.
The Devils are 3-1-2 in their past six games after an 0-4-2 start to the season. They won their first road game (1-3-0) by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 at PNC Arena on Saturday.
The Jets begin a four-game homestand looking for their third consecutive victory. Six of their eight wins have been by one goal (6-1-0), including each of their past five.
Players to watch
Devils forward Kyle Palmieri has six points (three goals, three assists) in a three-game point streak.
Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers has six points (four goals, two assists) in his past five games. He's gone pointless in consecutive games once this season (Oct. 13 and 15) and is one point from 100 in the NHL.
They said it
"We know how dangerous they are as a group, obviously. I think we've come a long way since the start of our season. For whatever reason we struggled (out of) the gate, especially in third periods … The last six games we've played much better. I think we have one regulation loss in that span." -- Devils forward Taylor Hall
"We'll be searching for speed here tonight… Are we getting the hits that we're supposed to? Not that we're running around the ice finishing checks, but if we're getting to them. Then it's going to be hand speed. Are we moving the puck quick enough? (The Devils) have got a lot of quickness up front." -- Jets coach Paul Maurice
Devils projected lineup
Taylor Hall -- Nico Hischier -- Kyle Palmieri
Pavel Zacha -- Jack Hughes -- Nikita Gusev
Jesper Boqvist -- Travis Zajac -- Blake Coleman
Miles Wood -- Kevin Rooney -- Wayne Simmonds
Damon Severson -- P.K. Subban
Andy Greene -- Sami Vatanen
Will Butcher -- Matt Tennyson
Mackenzie Blackwood
Cory Schneider
Scratched: Mirco Mueller, John Hayden
Injured: Connor Carrick (right pinky finger), Jesper Bratt (upper body)
Jets projected lineup
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler
Kyle Connor -- Bryan Little -- Patrik Laine
Andrew Copp -- Adam Lowry -- Jack Roslovic
Mathieu Perreault -- David Gustafsson -- Gabriel Bourque
Josh Morrissey -- Dmitry Kulikov
Nathan Beaulieu -- Neal Pionk
Luca Sbisa -- Anthony Bitetto
Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent Brossoit
Scratched: Carl Dahlstrom
Injured: Mark Letestu (heart), Mason Appleton (foot), Tucker Poolman (upper body)
Suspended: Dustin Byfuglien
Status report
Bratt is day to day. … Beaulieu will likely make his season debut. He sustained an upper-body injury in a preseason game against the Minnesota Wild on Sept. 29. … Poolman is day to day.
Stat pack
New Jersey has scored at least one power-play goal in its each of its past six games. … The Jets have outscored the Devils 28-15 in nine games at Bell MTS Place.