Devils Gameday Preview: Back-to-Back Concludes Against Avalanche

So far this season, the Devils’ power play has been a source of inconsistency. In their last five games, they’ve scored only twice across 12 opportunities. Hischier remains the only player with multiple goals on the man advantage, leading the team with four.

Based on today’s projected lines, it appears that Brenden Dillon will be a healthy scratch once again. The veteran defenseman missed five-consecutive games earlier this month, returning to action on Saturday afternoon against the Los Angeles Kings. In his stead, Declan Chisholm will skate on the third pairing with Johnathan Kovacevic.

Now that the Devils have found stability within the crease, it’s important that Jake Allen continues his dominant start to 2026-27. He’s gone 5-2-0 in his first seven contests, averaging an .886 save percentage (SV%). What’s even more impressive is that he allowed just one goal against the Kings. Moving forward, the Devils need this level of dependability from their backup goaltender.

Team Stats

New Jersey Devils

Season Record: 8-4-0

Top Scorers:

• Jack Hughes — 4 goals (G), 10 assists (A), 14 points (P)
• Jesper Bratt — 2 G, 9 A, 11 P
• Arseny Gritsyuk — 6 G, 4 A, 10 P
• Nico Hischier — 7 G, 2 A, 9 P
• Luke Evangelista — 3 G, 5 A, 8 P

Goalie Stats:

• Jake Allen — 5-2-0, 2.84 goals against average (GAA), .886 SV%
• Connor Hellebuyck — 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .944 SV%

Colorado Avalanche

Season Record: 6-5-1

Top Scorers:

• Nathan MacKinnon — 7 G, 14 A, 21 P
• Martin Necas — 6 G, 10 A, 16 P
• Artturi Lehkonen — 10 G, 4 A, 14 P
• Cale Makar — 3 G, 8 A, 11 P
• Devon Toews — 4 G, 6 A, 10 P

Goalie Stats:

• Mackenzie Blackwood — 5-3-0, 2.91 GAA, .893 SV%
• Scott Wedgewood — 1-2-1, 3.48 GAA, .889 SV%

Projected Lineup

(Subject to change before puck drop)

New Jersey Devils

Arseny Gritsyuk — Jack Hughes — Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier — Nico Hischier — Luke Evangelista
Anthony Mantha — Evan Rodrigues — Jesper Boqvist
Amadeus Lombardi — Cody Glass — Connor Brown

Luke Hughes — Brett Pesce
Jonas Siegenthaler — Dougie Hamilton
Declan Chisholm — Johnathan Kovacevic

Jake Allen
Connor Hellebuyck

Scratched: Brenden Dillon, Remi Poirier

Injured: Seamus Casey

Colorado Avalanche

Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog — Brock Nelson — Nazem Kadri
Jaden Schwartz — Fedor Svechkov — T.J. Hughes
Parker Kelly — Nicolas Roy — Logan O’Connor

Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Brett Kulak — Sam Malinski
Josh Manson — Brent Burns

Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood

Scratched: Noah Juulsen

Injured: Zachary L’Heureux

Next Up for the Devils

The Devils will conclude their three-game road trip against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night for the first of two matchups between the clubs this season. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 PM ET.