New Jersey
Devils Road Trip Shifts to Tampa Bay | PREVIEW | New Jersey Devils
THE SCOOP
The Devils finished last season third in the Metropolitan Division and tonight’s opponent, the Tampa Bay Lightning, finished second in the Atlantic. Both teams dropped their season openers: Devils 6-3 against the Carolina Hurricanes and the Lightning who fell 5-4 in their season and home opener. Both games were on Thursday night.
Last season, Nikita Kucherov had 121 points to lead the Bolts in scoring while Brayden Point had 42 goals to pace his teammates in that category.
For the Devils, Nico Hischier had 35 goals to lead them in that category and Jesper Bratt had 88 points. In an injury-shortened campaign, Jack Hughes had 27 goals and 70 points in 62 games — a 36-goal and 93-point pace.
In the preseason, the Devils finished third in the Metro Division with a record of 3-2-2. Tampa Bay had the best preseason record in the NHL at 6-1-0 for 12 points.