Connor Hellebuyck won’t headline the New Jersey Devils and Winnipeg Jets matchup. But two former teammates will battle it out.
Jamie Thomas of WinnipegJets.com shared that “The key part of the Jets side of the trade with New Jersey are Nico Daws and Dawson Mercer. Both will be in the lineup to face their former team on Tuesday night.”
While there will be no Hellebuyck fireworks on Tuesday night, two former halves of the Devils’ previous goaltending tandem will duel.
Daws has made two appearances and one start so far with the Jets. He has posted a .913 save percentage and a 3.11 GAA. That said, his sample size with the Jets is still small, and it remains to be seen how he will fare in Winnipeg.
At the time when the Devils traded Daws to the Jets as part of the Hellebuyck package, he posted an .872 save percentage, a 2.78 GAA, and a .500 quality starts percentage. Odds are, Daws would want nothing more than to show the Devils they shouldn’t have moved him.
Dawson Mercer likely feels the same. With more of an incentive to prove their former team wrong, New Jersey’s skaters must play one of their best games.
New Jersey Devils Projected Lines And Pairings Against Jets
New Jersey’s projected top six will look familiar, based on Amanda Stein‘s notes from Tuesday. Stein also wrote, “Keefe confirms #NJDevils will go 11/7 again tonight against the Jets. Tufte is out.”
Arseny Gritsyuk, Jack Hughes, and Jesper Bratt are the projected first trio. Hughes is looking to emulate his performance from last week that earned him Second Star of the Week recognition.
Timo Meier is projected to take the second line alongside Nico Hischier and Luke Evangelista. Meier enjoyed a remarkable turnaround in New Jersey’s previous matchup.
Cody Glass looks like he will center Evan Rodrigues and Connor Brown. Brown has quietly put together a good season, with six points and four goals in 10 games.
Riley Tufte was initially listed in Stein’s notes at left wing on the fourth line, but he is not slated to play. Amadeus Lombardi and Jesper Boqvist are the projected forwards on the fourth line.
New Jersey’s top four should see Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce taking the first pairing, while Jonas Siegenthalar and Dougie Hamilton should take the second. Hughes and Hamilton both contributed to overtime winners last week.
The bottom three are slated to be Declan Chisholm, Johnathan Kovacevic, and Brenden Dillon. This will mark Dillon’s tenth appearance this season. He currently has 22 hits.
Jake Allen Faces Former Protégé In Winnipeg
Via Marc Ciampa of NewJerseyDevils.com, Daws had excellent things to say about Allen:
“He was always just, ‘Do your thing. Believe in yourself. You’re a good goalie.’ So, yeah, I always appreciate that.”
Daws and Allen are in two separate stages of their careers. Daws is looking to break into his prime. Meanwhile, Allen is on the back end of his career. That said, it’s easy to claim that this one is a mentor vs. protégé kind of game.
There will be no Connor Hellebuyck, but the mentor vs. protégé vibes should still make for a memorable matchup. The puck will drop at 7:00 p.m. EST.
Devils’ Jake Allen Draws Intriguing Matchup Against Former Teammate