NBCSN will continue its coverage of the 2015-16 campaign tonight when the Minnesota Wild host the New Jersey Devils at 8:00 p.m. ET. If you want to watch the game online, you can do so here.
Not many people expected the New Jersey Devils to be in the mix for a playoff spot at this point of the season, but thanks to some strong goaltending, that’s exactly where they are.
The Devils are just one point behind Tampa Bay for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Unfortunately for New Jersey, it seems like the two teams are going in opposite directions.
The Devils have dropped three straight games, and they’re starting a tough four-game road trip against a familiar face, Zach Parise.
New Jersey is coming off one of their worst performances of the season in a loss to the Bruins on Friday night.
“We addressed it yesterday not through video, just more of a mindset thing and tried to clear our heads and have a good practice,” Hynes said, per The Record. “Then, this morning we took some clips from the game and showed things that we didn’t do great against Boston that we feel are going to be important for tonight.”
This will be Parise’s fourth game against his former team. He’s picked up three assists in the first three meeetings.
The 31-year-old didn’t score in Saturday’s game against Dallas, but he did score four goals in his previous two games.
The Wild have a decent-sized cushion (seven points) in the Western Conference playoff race despite the fact that they’ve struggled in 2016. Minnesota has just two wins in their first five games this month.
Fatigue could play a factor in this one.
They will be playing their second of back-to-back games and their third in four nights, while the Devils had the night off on Saturday.