The Matchup: Vegas Golden Knights (12-6-8) @ New Jersey Devils (16-10-1)The Time: 7:00pm ESTThe Broadcast: MSGSN, Devils Hockey Radio

On Wednesday night, the Devils lost to the Dallas Stars in New Jersey. There are not many positive things to say about this game, if we are being honest. The team got shut out, so obviously no one got on the score sheet. I am not going to do my usual routine of picking on Jacob Markstrom today. Sure, he did let up 3 goals, which is right below his season GAA of 3.55 (which is still horrible). At the same time, it doesn’t matter how many goals you let up when your team scores 0 goals in front of you. I’m not a mathematician, but I’m pretty sure you will lose every game where you don’t score a single goal.

The 2 teams were scoreless after the 1st period. I would actually say the Devils had some decent, or maybe even the better of the chances in the first period. However, I honestly found the 1st period to be pretty uneventful, from an entertainment perspective at the same time. Dallas scored 2 goals, less than 10 minutes apart in the 2nd period. While the game was not technically over at this point, Dallas scoring their 3rd goal about halfway through the 3rd period pretty much put the final nail in the coffin. After being previously “unbeatable” at home, the Devils have now dropped 3 games in a row at the pebble Rock.

If I am forced to think of one positive thing that happened (or didn’t happen) on Wednesday, I will say that no one new got hurt for the Devils. I’m sure the next injury (and accompanying excuse) is right around the corner, but for at least one more night, the injury plague did not claim its next victim.

On Tuesday night, the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3. The game was the last match of a 4 game home stand before heading out for a 5 game road trip, starting tonight in New Jersey. The Knights and Blackhawks traded goals less than 60 seconds apart in the 1st period, and traded goals again in the 2nd and 3rd periods before sending the game to overtime. When the game could not be decided in OT, it went to the skills contest shootout, where Vegas eventually won in the 4th round.

The win was the 2nd in a row for Vegas, after losing their previous 4 games before that. However, on a more interesting note, this was the first game back to the NHL for goalie Carter Hart, who last played in the league in the 2023-2024 season for the Philadelphia Flyers. The Knights have used quite a bit of goaltenders so far this season. Adin Hill (3 games), Akira Schmid (15 games), Carl Lindbom (7 games), and now Hart. For the time being, it looks like the Knights are going to go with Hart and Schmid as their goaltending duo. The Knights had 2 days off before tonight, so I wouldn’t call it “back to back” games/starts, but I would expect to see Akira Schmid get the start tonight against his former team.

Injuries, Roster for Tonight, Yada, Yada, Yada.

From what was available on social media on Thursday (Amanda Stein, official NJ Devils, etc.), the team did not appear to have practice yesterday. On the injury front, I would expect the lineup for tonight to be the same as Wednesday. I don’t anticipate any players returning from injury, and the only variable at this point is who plays as the 6th D-man; White or Cholowski.

As far as the stater for tonight, again no official announcement has been made as of this article. However, Keefe has been alternating his starter for the past 4 games, and assuming that trend continues, I would expect Jake Allen to get the nod tonight.

Grimace’s Prediction and 2025-2026 Record Tracker

Again, like the Devils, Grimace has been playing .500 level predictions since Jack Hughes did his yearly disappearing act. He’s unfortunately taken to the bottle again after their last loss (Grimace, not Jack). For tonight, he has predicted a loss.

Grimace’s 2025-2026 Season Prediction record currently stands at 8-7-0.

I actually have no hard feelings against Akria Schmid. Say what you will about how his time ended in New Jersey, but without him, the Devils absolutely do NOT win the 7 game series against the Rangers in 2022-2023. I wish him well in his career, sincerely. Just not against the Devils, and especially not tonight. Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below and thanks for reading!

In a shameless bit of non hockey related self promotion (approved by Chris – thanks Chris), I wanted to plug my brand new podcast on here, if any of you are interested in listening. We have a light hearted, fun discussion about any movies, music or video games mostly from the 1980s and 1990s. Please feel free to listen to us on any of the formats below and any feedback is welcome (positive and negative). Also, please follow us and subscribe, even if you think we stink. 🙂