Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
The New Jersey Devils face the Anaheim Ducks with both teams heading in opposite directions this season. The Devils have a 26-12-3 record and with back-to-back wins have jumped into second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Ducks have a 12-26-4 record and with only three wins in their last 10 games are in last place in the Pacific Division. The Devils look to remain near the top of the Eastern Conference while the Ducks look to improve in the Western Conference and the upcoming game should be a good one as a result.
The Devils are having a great season 3.44 goals per game with 17 goals in the last four games. Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Nico Hischier have scored 60 goals and 69 assists to lead the top two lines but the entire offense has stepped up. Dawson Mercer, Tomas Tatar, and Erik Haula have combined for 21 goals and 48 assists while defensemen Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Seigenthaler have added 11 goals and 38 assists from the point to put the offense over the top.
The offense has carried the Devils but the defense has also stepped up, allowing only 2.63 goals per game. Ryan Graves and Jonas Seigenthaler have combined for 6.3 defensive point shares and 142 blocked shots while Dougie Hamilton and Damon Severson have combined for 4.3 defensive point shares to add depth to the unit. In addition, goaltender Vitek Vanecek has stepped up with a .913 save percentage and a 2.37 goals-against average on 655 shots .