The New Jersey Devils are set to continue their three-game road trip in Florida, facing the Tampa Bay Lightning at Benchmark International Arena. Both teams enter the matchup with identical records of 0-1-0 after losing their respective season openers on Thursday night. The Devils fell 6-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes, while the Lightning lost 5-4 in their home opener.
Last season, the Devils secured third place in the Metropolitan Division, and the Lightning finished second in the Atlantic Division. In head-to-head matchups from last season, Tampa Bay won two out of three games against New Jersey.
Nikita Kucherov led Tampa Bay with 121 points last year and started this season strong with two goals in his first game. Brayden Point was also a key contributor for the Lightning, scoring 42 goals last season and recording one goal and two assists in his first outing this year.
For New Jersey, Nico Hischier was last season’s top goal scorer with 35 goals, while Jesper Bratt tallied 88 points. Jack Hughes recorded 27 goals and 70 points over an injury-shortened campaign of 62 games. This performance projected him to a pace of about 36 goals and 93 points had he played a full season.
In preseason play, Tampa Bay posted the league’s best record at 6-1-0, while New Jersey finished third in their division with a record of 3-2-2.
Recent performances have seen Luke Hughes and Jesper Bratt each earn two points for New Jersey in their opening game. Dougie Hamilton and Cody Glass also scored for the Devils. On Tampa’s side, Victor Hedman contributed two assists alongside strong starts from Kucherov and Point.
The Devils will be without Kovacevic (knee), who is listed as month-to-month; Noesen (groin), day-to-day; Casey (lower body), McLaughlin (undisclosed), and Lammikko (undisclosed). The Lightning are missing Girgensons, Huuhtanen, and Paul—all on injured reserve due to undisclosed reasons.
The regular-season series between these teams last year saw Tampa Bay win twice: an 8-5 victory on October 22nd and a shutout win on November 17th. The Devils claimed an overtime win on January 11th.
Tonight’s game will be available on MSGSN2 television, Gotham Sports streaming platform, and broadcast via Devils Hockey Network radio.
