Loading...
Get amped for another round of NHL regular season games, as the New Jersey Devils head to the United Center to face off against the Chicago Blackhawks in one of their toughest seasons. The puck drops for tonight’s game at 7:30 PM ET sharp, and we’ve got a whole rundown of what to expect based on both team’s ongoing performances.
Take the time to check out our analysis for the game and choose whether you want to fade or follow our picks!
The New Jersey Devils sit in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference’s Metropolitan Division with 81 points. They continue to chase the Hurricanes in second, while they sit 11 points behind the Washington Capitals in 1st. March was not easy for the Devils, facing a 6-1 defeat to the Winnipeg Jets on the 7th before another 7-3 defeat against the Pittsburgh Penguins a week later. They’d come out with four wins in their last eight games, although they hit a rough patch as of March 20, where their 5-3 victory against the Calgary Flames would spark a three-game losing streak. Currently, the Devils are the most out-of-form team (aside from the Bruins and Flyers) and will need a win to hold onto 3rd place in their division with two extra games already played.
Timo Meier would have a spectacular performance, netting 2 goals in the Devils’ most recent game for a total of 22 goals scored this season, which resulted in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks. Nico Hischier would add to his tally of 30 goals after finding the back of the net against the Senators last Saturday (March 22). The Devils will need outstanding performances from Meier, Hischier and teammate Jack Hughes, and we fully expect Hischier to get on the scoreboard.
Both goaltenders, Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen, boast an impressive 2.5 goals allowed per game, so if either goalkeeper takes the ice tonight, you can expect it to be tough for the Blackhawks to score.
Despite the Chicago Blackhawks winning their last game 7-4 against the Philadelphia Flyers, they’ve hardly had an impressive season to say the least. Over their last eight games, they’d lose seven, starting March 8 until their most recent game against Philadelphia on March 23. Currently, the Blackhawks sit at the very bottom of the Western Conference’s Central Division with a mere 51 points, 9 points behind the next highest team, the Nashville Predators. The number one issue for the Blackhawks going into any game this season is their goal differential, where they’ve struggled to keep pucks out of their net and have failed to go on rampant scoring streaks.
Chicago’s Ryan Donato is coming off 2 goals scored in the latest match against the Flyers, adding to his season total of 25 goals and 25 assists. Connor Bedard is also having a spectacular season against the unpromising circumstances, with a goal in his last game against Philadelphia to add to his total of 20 goals this season and 36 assists. To have any hopes of winning this game, goalie Spencer Knight will need to improve on his current 2.55 goals allowed per game with the help of defenseman Alex Vlasic and Seth Jones.
On paper, we think this game could be relatively close, especially considering the New Jersey Devils are on a losing streak while the Blackhawks are coming off a fresh win. Chicago has struggled all season as one of the worst goal-scoring teams in the NHL (193 scored in total), although they would net 7 in their most recent match.
There are only a few teams worse at scoring this season, and the Calgary Flames are one of them, which saw a 5-3 victory over the Devils in March despite their lack of firepower. Overall, the Devils showcase a goal differential of 24, while the Blackhawks suffer from a -61 goal differential, so we’re going with the New Jersey Devils in this one, with at least 1 goal from Nico Hischier.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.