P5 New Jersey Devils vs New York Islanders: Chasing (preseason) perfection

The Devils will put their undefeated record on the line against a very NHL-heavy Islanders lineup.

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The New Jersey Devils will put their undefeated preseason record on the line Monday night against a very strong New York Islanders lineup (is there such thing as a weak one?!?).

Let’s take a look at a few things to watch for, and zero in on, as the Devils attempt to win their fifth consecutive game.

DEVILS LINEUP

Via Amanda Stein:

Toffoli - Hughes - Bratt
Nosek - McLeod - Bastian
Tierney - Lazar - Thompson
Willman - Dowling - Clarke

Bahl - Marino
Hughes - Miller
Misyul - Nemec

Starter: Schimd
Vanecek

ISLANDERS LINEUP

The Islanders did not have a morning skate today but this the expected lineup, according to Stefen Rosner:

Holmstrom-Horvat-Barzal
Engvall-Nelson-Gauthier
Lee-Pageau-Wahlstrom
Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck

Pelech-Dobson
Romanov-Pulock
Aho-Mayfield

Starter: Sorokin
Varlamov

GAME NOTES

• The Toffoli-Hughes-Bratt trio is expected to get its second full game together. They showed well in their debut as a line, accounting for two of three goals – and 14 shot attempts – against the Rangers. The Rangers were icing a half and half team, though. This should be a much stiffer test as the Islanders are projected to ice a roster that will look extremely similar to what they trot out on opening night. The Islanders are known as a grind-it-out team – and have arguably the best goaltender in the sport manning the crease – so this will give us a better indication of how good this line really is and what it’s capable of.

• Luke Hughes looked extremely comfortable quarterbacking the top power play in his last game. He was confident walking the line and distributed the puck very well on a unit that generated ~five Grade A chances in two minutes of work. I don’t think Hughes will get real PP1 reps unless something happens to Dougie Hamilton but it’d still be great to see him continue to excel in that role. The Devils will want to know they have a strong alternative – who also has some experience with the big guns – if and when he’s needed.