The New Jersey Devils will wrap up a four-game homestand by hosting the Vegas Golden Knights at Prudential Center on Friday night. New Jersey enters the matchup after dropping its first three home games of the stretch, while Vegas begins a five-game road trip. Both teams are dealing with key injuries as they vie for playoff positioning.
The New Jersey Devils (16-10-1) face the Vegas Golden Knights (12-6-8) in the finale of a challenging four-game homestand. This marks only the second time this season the Devils have lost three straight games, slipping them to the top wild card spot with 33 points. They trail Washington by three points for first in the Metropolitan Division, in a tight race where just seven points separate the division's top and bottom teams.
New Jersey has started the season strong at home with a 9-0-1 record but has gone 0-3-0 in its last three at Prudential Center. The Devils continue without superstar center Jack Hughes due to a finger injury and top defenseman Brett Pesce with an upper-body issue. Other sidelined players include Dadonov (hand), Kovacevic (knee), McLaughlin (undisclosed) and MacEwen (upper body).
Captain Nico Hischier snapped a six-game scoring streak in the recent loss to Dallas but had tallied six goals and six assists for 12 points during that run.
Vegas sits second in the Pacific Division, one point behind Anaheim, and kicks off a five-game road swing that includes stops in New York, Philadelphia and Columbus. The Golden Knights recently signed forward Mitch Marner to an eight-year, $96 million contract with a $12 million average annual value; in his first season with the team, he has five goals, 20 assists and 25 points.
Mark Stone has notched at least one point in all 10 games played this season, including a four-game streak with two goals and two assists since returning from injury. Vegas injuries include Lauzon (undisclosed, IR), Hill (lower-body, IR), Karlsson (lower-body, IR) and Pietrangelo (hip, IR). The Golden Knights rank third in the NHL with a 53.9% faceoff win percentage.
The teams will meet again on December 17 in Vegas.