GDT: Your New Jersey Devils (2-1) vs. Buffalo Sabres (3-1), 7 PM, MSG

[Better Call Sal]

Let's check in on the state of the fanbase 3 games in.

It would appear that despite winning the first 2 of 3 games, the injuries and inconsistencies of some players continue to bug people to no end.

Rest assured, this may be a new record for over the top reactions with a 2-1 record. And hopefully our players have thick skin to be rubber to our pouty fans' glue.

The Sabres are in town and they've....won 3 games?

But coming off their first loss, we'll certainly need to bring a better finishing game than we did the other night. And let's hope that Bernier feels 100% to get back in the net tonight.

Your New Jersey Devils (lineup subject to change)

#37 Pavel Zacha - #13 Nico Hischier (C) - #63 Jesper Bratt
#17 Yegor Sharangovich - #20 Michael McLeod - #59 Janne Kuokkanen
#11 Andreas Johnsson - #18 Dawson Mercer - #90 Tomas Tatar
#16 Jimmy Vesey - #38 Frederik Gauthier - #67 Marian Studenic

#33 Ryan Graves - #7 Dougie Hamilton (A)
#24 Ty Smith - #28 Damon Severson (A)
#71 Jonas Siegenthaler - #76 P.K. Subban

#50 Nico Daws
#41 Scott Wedgewood

Injuries/Scratches:

#29 Mackenzie Blackwood (Heel/Fear of Needles)
#44 Miles Wood (IR - Bumps and Bruises from a month ago)
#45 Jonathan Bernier (Day to Day - Lower Body Injury)
#55 Mason Geertsen (Healthy)
#83 Christian Jaros (Healthy)
#86 Jack Hughes (IR - Separated Shoulder)

Maybe we should introduce this new mascot for Mac and that'll help comfort him

News and Notes:

Defenseman Dougie Hamilton has led the Devils in TOI in all three games played, and most recently led the team with 22:46 TOI vs Washington.

Hamilton (24:31) and fellow blueliner Ryan Graves (22:47) lead New Jersey in ATOI, thus far.

Defenseman P.K. Subban leads the Devils with 11 shots on goal to start the season and the 2012-13 Norris Trophy winner also leads Jersey’s team with eight blocked shots.

In the dots, it’s Michael McLeod who leads New Jersey with a 63.6% face-off percentage and owns a 70.0% face-off percentage when the team is shorthanded.

Pavel Zacha (4g-7a-11PTS) and Jesper Bratt (2g-7a—PTS) led New Jersey in scoring against the Sabres last season. (Perhaps this is a good omen!)

Buffalo Sabres Projected Lineup:

#53 Jeff Skinner - #24 Dylan Cozens - #29 Vinnie Hinostroza
#74 Ramus Asplund - #72 Tage Thompson - #71 Victor Olofsson
#96 Anders Bjork - #28 Zemgus Girgensons - #21 Kyle Okposo (A)
#91 Drake Caggiula - #25 Arttu Ruotsalainen - #15 John Hayden

#26 Ramus Dahlin - #4 Will Butcher
#78 Jacob Bryson - #33 Colin Miller
#8 Robert Hagg - #13 Mark Pysyk

#31 Dustin Tokarski
#41 Craig Anderson

Scratches/Injuries:

#9 Jack Eichel (Anger Built Up in Neck)
#10 Henri Jokiharju (Lower Body Injury)
#20 Cody Eakin (Day to Day - Undisclosed)
#23 Mattias Samuelsson (Healthy)
#37 Casey Mittelstadt (Upper Body Injury)
#86 Christian Wolanin (Healthy)


Will Butcher, 1st pairing defender!

Time to put on our big boy pants and get this big fat dubbbbb

LGD

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[Figgie]

Geertsen out and Studenic in please!!

 

[FinnishDevil]

Should be interesting to see how both the team and individuals respond after the tweet saying that Ruff had talks with players.

I think thats gonna be more important than the end result. Need to see more hunger, effort and fight out of the team. Goals will come but this team is not good enough to take nights off.

Hopefully Ty is back and Daws gets a start if Bernier or Mac is not available.

LGD!

 

[Clam Jensen]

Need the W to wipe the taste of the Caps game out of our collective mouth. Ty being back is huge, that D looks really solid.

 

[Ripshot 43]

If Buffalo is finding a way to win, then so do we.

I wish this was an afternoon game. I need an excuse to not do adult stuff.

 

[glenwo2]

If Bratt doesn't score, TRAID HIM 4 PUCKS OR SOMETHING AND SIGN ZACHA TO 15 YEAR, 100 MILLION DOLLAR DEAL! (Am I doing it right, HyperX? )

Anyway, hope the team has a bounceback game as they definitely need to wipe that bad taste of that loss out of their mouths.

Here's to the Nico-Zacha-Bratt Line getting on the scoresheet and playing well.

Here's also to the rest of the team playing better.

 

[MartyOwns]

me waiting for us to lose like

 

[Cheddabombs]

Must win game

 

[TheUnseenHand]

GDT comes across like the Devil's social media. Stop chirping us!

 

[NJ DevLolz]

Ignore the fact that he can play hockey, but Studenic should be in solely for the fact that Buffalo should be tired and we need to outskate them

 

[Better Call Sal]

Must win game

Always and forever

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Excited to see the Sabres because they seem to be legit…

 

[Blender]

LGD!

 

[RyGuy]

No excuse to lose this one.

 

[Whaddagoal]

Hoping that:

1) Ruff will come out and say Bernier is back in business and will be back tonight
2) Studenic makes his way back in lineup
3) Ty Smith plays like Ty Smith from last season
4) Our top line has a top line style game

 

[TheUnseenHand]

Hoping that:

1) Ruff will come out and say Bernier is back in business and will be back tonight
2) Studenic makes his way back in lineup
3) Ty Smith plays like Ty Smith from last season
4) Our top line has a top line style game

You will get:

1. Wedgewood
2. Geertsen
3. Rusty performance
4. Solid defense but a lack of production

I do think this is a game where Mercer can shine. Excited to see him tonight.

 

[Whaddagoal]

You will get:

1. Wedgewood
2. Geertsen
3. Rusty performance
4. Solid defense but a lack of production

I do think this is a game where Mercer can shine. Excited to see him tonight.

........

That optimism is contagious! Hope someone clowns these Sabres tonight...

LGD!

 

[Blender]

You will get:

1. Wedgewood
2. Geertsen
3. Rusty performance
4. Solid defense but a lack of production

I do think this is a game where Mercer can shine. Excited to see him tonight.

 

[Bcap88]

Will butcher top pairing d men given away for a bag of pucks

 

[SJinNewJersey]

Great GDT, remembering a game from last year:

 

[Better Call Sal]

I’ll be there with my wife in section 4, looking forward to hopefully a fun one.

I know Buffalo won their first 3 but this is one I’m hoping the offense comes out and feasts. Hear Lindy’s message loud and clear, this is a team we can attack and beat. Bratt and Zacha had a lot of success against them last year so I hope the 3 Amigos line keeps pushing the pace of play and gets the conversions they’ve been missing.

 

[njdevils1982]

its slug season! just torch this clown show

and butcher on he top pairing

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Buffalo has been surprisingly good. It looks like they played pretty well even in the loss last night. Need to bounce back.

 

[MadDevil]

I didn't even know Hayden was with Buffalo now.

 

[njdevils1982]

If Buffalo is finding a way to win, then so do we.

I wish this was an afternoon game. I need an excuse to not do adult stuff.

no no no…..save the afternoon weekend games for when its winter ….its still nice out these days and would rather not sit indoors for 3 hours when i could be outside

which is where im going now