G10 New Jersey Devils @ Detroit Red Wings: Hughes and Pesce debut

Reinforcements are on the way after a couple of awful defensive performances.

Follow along on Twitter @ToddCordell | @InfernalAccess

Be sure to join the Discord channel to talk hockey with our writers and subscribers.

---

A few notes to get you set for New Jersey vs. Detroit:

Goaltending should stabilize 𐄷

The Devils defended poorly over the past couple of games but goaltenders didn’t exactly help the cause. Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen only magnified the mistakes made further with poor play of their own.

They combined to allow 14 goals on 7.31 expected and stopped only 81% of the shots faced. Yes, 81%.

The good news is Markstrom finds himself in a dream matchup to find his footing and get the team back on track.

Detroit has played truly putrid hockey at both ends of the ice during 5v5 play. Offensively, they rank dead last in shot generation and 31st when it comes to expected goals. They have not done much to test opposing defenses and goaltenders.

Although – like anybody – the Red Wings do have some weapons that can really hurt you, they aren’t creating much of anything as a team.

The Devils have generally played fairly stable defensive hockey and I think they’ll be dialled in after back-to-back alarmingly poor efforts.

If Markstrom can simply make the saves he should, the Devils will be in a good spot tonight. I don’t think his workload will be overly difficult.

Centers of attention 👀