G42 New Jersey Devils @ Tampa Bay Lightning: A tall task

Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell | @InfernalAccess

Be sure to join the Discord channel to talk hockey, and everything else, with me and fellow subscribers.

---

Five things to watch when the New Jersey Devils take on the Tampa Bay Lightning:

1. High-danger hockey

Grade A chances should not be on low supply in this game; not if the recent form of these two sides is any indication.

Believe it or not, the Devils have been quite good at getting to the slot of late. They’ve created 13.91 high-danger chances per 60 (5v5) over the last 10 games, which is good for 4th in the NHL. Converting those opportunities has been problematic at times, obviously, but the Devils are getting quality looks at net.

Tampa Bay, unsurprisingly, has also done a nice job of creating high-end chances. They’ve averaged 12.59 per 60 over the last 10, sandwiching them between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. A pretty good place to be, I’d say.

They won’t have Nikita Kucherov tonight due to a COVID-19 case, however, the return of Ondrej Palat should help offset some of the offense lost.

Suffice to say, the goaltenders should see difficult workloads in this game. There could be a lot of goals if they’re not up to the task.