There’s no better way for the New Jersey Devils to test themselves early in the season than against the NHL’s top teams.
They’ll get another opportunity on Saturday afternoon when they host the Edmonton Oilers in Newark, N.J.
The Devils are coming off a 3-1 victory on Thursday against the Florida Panthers, who beat the Oilers in the past two Stanley Cup Finals.
New Jersey has won three in a row overall following its 6-3 season-opening loss to the undefeated Carolina Hurricanes.
“We’re progressing,” Devils goalie Jake Allen said. “Guys in the group have talked a lot about just getting a little bit better each game, finding ways to improve our game, and that identity is definitely coming. There’s a few new bodies in our lineup, obviously some injuries, so guys are moving around, but guys are playing like they’re committed right now and it’s really good to see.”
New Jersey was tied 1-1 entering the third period against the Panthers before Timo Meier and Nico Hischier scored and Allen blanked Florida the rest of the way.
“The good teams find a way to break teams down over the course of a game,” New Jersey center Jack Hughes said. “We want to be one of those teams.”
The Devils also hope to be more formidable at home.
They went just 19-17-5 at Prudential Center last season, compared to 23-16-2 on the road. They earned enough points to make the playoffs, but a better home record would have helped their seeding.
“When it’s a tough building to play in, there’s a lot of juice in here and a lot of energy,” Hughes said. “That’s when it’s the most fun for the players to play, and it probably brings the best out of our group.”
Edmonton is coming off its first regulation loss of the season, falling 4-2 to the New York Islanders on Thursday in the second game of a five-game road trip.
Leon Draisaitl scored his third goal of the season and Connor McDavid contributed an assist to extend his point streak to all four games (five assists), but defenseman Evan Bouchard likely had the worst performance of his seven-year NHL career.
He finished minus-3 with two giveaways, the first leading directly to a breakaway goal by Matt Barzal for a 1-0 lead. He later skated out of position while on the power play, leading to a short-handed breakaway goal by Bo Horvat that tied it 2-2.
“I’ve seen Evan play better,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We cannot just accept (the bad with the good). Mistakes happen, but you have to address what types of mistakes are happening. Evan’s a fantastic player, one of the best in the league, certainly one of the best defensemen in the NHL. (Thursday) was not his night, but I’ve always seen him respond and play much better after games like this.”
Bouchard signed a four-year, $42 million contract extension on June 30 after combining for 149 points (32 goals, 117 assists) the past two regular seasons.
“There’s going to be mistakes, (but) Evan’s superpower is he forgets quick and he just goes out there and plays his game,” said his defense partner, Mattias Ekholm. “I’m pretty sure we’ll see a different Bouchard on Saturday.”
