The matchup: The New Jersey Devils (24-13-3) vs. the Los Angeles Kings (21-10-5).

The time: 6:00 p.m. EST; 3:00 p.m. on site

The broadcast: TV – MSGSN, FanDuel Sports Network West, NHL Network; Audio: Devils Hockey Radio

No excuses

It’s easy to score the second game of a back-to-back when your team is on the other continent, expected to play its backup goalie, and is playing a playoff team on New Year’s Day. But after losing last night to the NHL’s bottom team, the Anaheim Ducks, the Devils don’t have the luxury of taking it easy today. The Devils started the game well yesterday but missed too many chances as they fell behind and tried to recover.

The Kings are at 10/21/5 without Drew Doughty, still sidelined with an ankle injury. They recently won both ends in a row against Edmonton and Philadelphia. If the Devils want to be a better team in 2025, they will have to work hard on the system that won them so many games in December.

Need a fourth line tonight

I didn’t have too much of a problem using Kurtis MacDermid in place of Tomas Tatar last night, but I don’t think Sheldon Keefe can keep the same lineup tonight. The MacDermid-Lazar-Bastian line was on the ice together for just three minutes and 34 seconds, which resulted in Bastian – who was actually buzzing – taking turns with other lines. To try and get the fourth line over 10 minutes, I think Keefe should roll Tatar and Dowling out on the ice tonight.

Selke match

While it remains to be seen how Jim Hiller will use his lines with the latest change, Anze Kopitar and Nico Hischier should face off at least a few times tonight. While Kopitar will likely catch Selke’s attention — he hasn’t won the award since 2018 — he’s showing signs of age. Nico Hischier is currently sixth in the league among strikers by expected goals percentage, while Anze Kopitar is 60th, although some Kings, such as Alex Laferriere (7th), are near the top of the league. Kopitar is slowing down offensively, averaging just 1.28 shots on goal per game, a decrease from 1.65 in the 2023-24 season, 2.06 in the 2022-23 season and 2.59 in the 2021-22 season. This sharp decline in shooting performance hasn’t diminished his goal output, however, as he still has 12 goals for the season – and he’s hoping to set a career-high in shooting percentage for the third year in a row (16.6 -> 19.5 ->). currently 26.1). However, given the crooked number he’s currently aiming for, I don’t expect this to last forever for Kopitar. So unless Kopitar magically starts playing like he’s five years younger, I just expect him to get Selke votes in terms of his reputation. Just don’t tell the LA Kings announcers that.

Jake Allen

After Markstrom lost to the red-hot Lukas Dostal last night, the Devils will likely start Jake Allen tonight. Allen is unfortunately on a four-game losing streak and has conceded 16 goals in those games, although the first of those starts dates back to November. I would have liked to see Allen go against the weaker team with a shorter rest to rebuild some rhythm, but instead he sees the well-rested Kings who don’t have to worry about having less than two days off after a game until January 10th. So the Kings can play this game as hard and fast as they want, and the Devils can handle cross-country trips and back-to-backs. NHL planners should all find new jobs.

But no matter, everyone hasn’t been feeling well since October and mid-November. With a season record of 5-6-1 and a save percentage of .897, he needs to improve. With his start tonight, he’s on pace to play just 26 games, and his save percentage hasn’t improved much since he was a platoon goalie with a heavier workload in Montreal. I think Allen needs to reverse that trend a bit so that Tom Fitzgerald doesn’t start considering backup goaltender as a much-needed trade deadline position, but I’m holding out hope that the guy’s two shutouts in 12 games will make up for that and can be more reliable in the next few weeks.

He will have to stop a good and sometimes very lucky LA team. Adrian Kempe (1) and Anze Kopitar (4) are both top five in the league in percentage due to their ridiculous shooting percentages, Allen’s counterpart might be Darcy Kuemper, who is on a seven-game point streak with a record of 5-0-2 and one .919 save percentage since Dec. 7, when he returned from an injury that sidelined him nearly a month. Keumper last played on the 28th, while his replacement, David Rittich, won the second half of the meeting against the Flyers a day later. Rittich has an .887 save percentage in 20 games this season, although he has already played almost as much as he did last season due to Kuemper’s injury in November.

Your thoughts

What do you think of tonight’s game? What do you think of the goalkeeper duel? What about the top centers in question? What do you think of the Kings as a whole? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and thanks for reading.