G48 New Jersey Devils vs. Colorado Avalanche: Back to work

The Devils return to action against one of the league's best teams.

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

Heavy lifting

John Marino was playing some of his best hockey of the season prior to the All-Star break. He ranked 1st among regular Devils defensemen in xG suppression over the last 10 games and played a big part in the positive turnaround from the penalty kill.

He will need to pick up where he left off and hit the ground running against the Avalanche.

Given the noticeable struggles of the Kevin Bahl - Simon Nemec pairing, the Devils will no doubt be giving Luke Hughes and Marino a heavy dose of the Nathan MacKinnon line. That’s their best, and only realistic, course of action in effort to find success.

There is reason to believe it won’t be a lost cause. That duo has allowed just 2.28 xGA this season while giving up fewer than two goals against per 60. Those are very strong numbers; especially given the goaltending the Devils have gotten.

If that pairing – likely with plenty of help from the Ondrej Palat/Nico Hischier/Jesper Bratt line up front – can hold up and keep MacKinnon’s unit in check, the Devils will have a fighting chance in this game.

If not? The Devils will likely need A-level efforts from Vitek Vanecek, the Bahl-Nemec pairing, and/or the Santeri Hatakka pairing.

In other words, there’d be real potential for an ugly return to action.

Discipline is paramount