Devils vs. Avalanche: 3 Keys to Victory

The New Jersey Devils will face their toughest test to date as they take on the Colorado Avalanche in a nationally televised game on TNT

After a 4-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night, the New Jersey Devils face a much stiffer test against the Colorado Avalanche tonight in Denver. The Avalanche are coming off a 7-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights and will likely be looking to make a point early. Here are three keys to victory for the Devils. 

Two 5-on-5 Heavyweights

There will likely be no shortage of strong five-on-five play in this battle between two heavyweights. Even without Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, the Devils should still have enough juice to make this an interesting game at five-on-five. 

After a slow-ish start to the season, the Devils have looked more like the 2022-23 version of themselves at full strength. They controlled over 60 percent of the expected goals in their 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues and posted similar numbers in their win against the Blackhawks. 

The Devils' xG% now sits at 55.11 percent for the season, the seventh-best rate in the NHL. However, the Avalanche have been an even slightly better team at that game state. 

Colorado's xG% of 57.62 percent is second-best in the NHL to the Los Angeles Kings, and there's only a .05 difference between the two teams. The Avalanche are playing excellent two-way hockey, generating plenty of quality chances and not giving much back the other way. 

That's why the Devils need to get off to a fast start tonight. The Avalanche aren't going to sit back after losing 7-0 to the reigning Stanley Cup champions. If Nathan MacKinnon and company get rolling early, it'll be hard for the Devils to make up ground without Hughes and Hischier. 

Georgiev vs. Vanecek or Schmid

Goaltending is usually a relatively decisive factor, but it could be a big one tonight. The Avalanche have not gotten great goaltending from Alexandar Georgiev to start this season, and they don't have many options with Pavel Francouz out with an injury.