The New Jersey Devils have been one of the worst teams in the NHL this season, which gives the Boston Bruins a good chance to pick up some points for the playoff race when they visit the Prudential Center on Monday night.
The Devils rank 27th in goals scored per game, goals against average and power-play percentage. Their last game resulted in a 6-2 loss to the Washington Capitals at home on New Year’s Eve.
The Bruins, meanwhile, just swept a home-and-home series with the Buffalo Sabres and have picked up points in seven of their last 10 games. Veteran center David Backes still is out with an upper-body injury, which means Boston will need increased offensive production from the likes of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Frank Vatrano and Ryan Spooner.
Here are the projected lineups for both teams.
BOSTON BRUINS (20-15-4)
Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–David Pastrnak
Ryan Spooner–David Krejci–Frank Vatrano
Tim Schaller–Austin Czarnik–Riley Nash
Anton Blidh–Dominic Moore–Jimmy Hayes
Zdeno Chara–Brandon Carlo
Torey Krug–Adam McQuaid
Kevan Miller–Colin Miller
Tuukka Rask
NEW JERSEY DEVILS (14-16-7)
Taylor Hall–Adam Henrique–P.A. Parenteau
Michael Cammalleri–Travis Zajac–Kyle Palmieri
Miles Wood–Pavel Zacha–Nick Lappin
Beau Bennett–Sergey Kalinin–Devante Smith-Pelly
Andy Greene–Ben Lovejoy
Damon Severson–Kyle Quincey
Jon Merrill–Steven Santini
Cory Schneider
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
