G40 New Jersey Devils @ Florida Panthers: Survive

The undermanned Devils will have their hands full against the league's hottest team.

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By David Mudrak (@MuddyOpinions)

A few notes to consider before tonight’s game: 

The Panthers are on fire

The New Jersey Devils may have one of their most difficult games all season as they are plagued with injuries and set to meet a side that has won nine in a row. 

The Panthers are cooking right now. Over the last 10 games, they have controlled most of the play, earning a 57.44 CF% to go with their 58.98 xGF%. The team is also getting support from their netminders in that span (that must be nice), with Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz putting up .918 and .971 save percentages, respectively. 

The Panthers begin to look even more threatening when you look at their first line of Evan Rodrigues, Aleksander Barkov, and Sam Reinhart. That line has a ~60 xGF% and, even more amazing, an actual GF% of 81.82. They scored twenty-seven goals together and allowed only six. 

Florida’s second line of Carter Verhaege, Sam Bennet, and Matthew Tkachuk is also spectacular, owning an xGF% and a GF% of 60. 

The Devils will need to keep things tight to survive. The defense will need to prioritize simple defensive zone exits to minimize the number of times they get hemmed into their own zone. Especially against that top unit, the simple play will suffice. 

No help from the goalies