New Jersey Devils News

On the front end of a back-to-back, the Devils will turn to Allen between the pipes for his second start of the young season in a Monday afternoon matchup against the Utah Hockey Club. Allen was solid in his first appearance of the season, saving 17 of 18 shots (.944 SV%) in a 3-1 victory against the Buffalo Sabres. Since being traded to the Devils late last season, Allen has posted a respectable 2.96 GAA and .902 SV% in 14 outings (7-6-1). New Jersey enters action as -161 home favorites against Utah.

As expected, Connor Hellebuyck will take the crease for Winnipeg's third game of the season on Sunday vs. Minnesota. The 31-year-old reigning Vezina Trophy winner has looked in peak form to start the season, with his 2-0-0 record, 0.50 GAA, .928 SV% and one shutout. He will host the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, who is coming off a 5-4 loss to Seattle on Saturday.

Chisholm missed the Wilds' first two games to begin the season due to illness but will make his debut on Sunday in Winnipeg as he replaces the injured Jared Spurgeon (lower body). The 24-year-old defensemen appeared in 29 games in 2023-24 and had three goals, eight points and 18 PIMs while averaging only 16:52 TOI/GP.

Tufte was a minus-1 in 9:21 TOI in his season debut on Thursday but will come out of the lineup on Saturday to make room for Matthew Poitras.

Last season's Vezina trophy winner picked up where he left off, saving all 30 shots he faced for a shutout in a dominant 6-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. The 31-year-old Hellebuyck has led the league in appearances amongst goalies in four of the last seven seasons and is expected to be amongst the leaders again this season. Hellebuyck will return to the crease on Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Jets enter action as sizeable -266 home favorites against a Blackhawks team that was defeated 5-2 in their season-opening matchup against the Utah Hockey Club.

Last season's Vezina trophy winner picked up where he left off, saving all 30 shots he faced for a shutout in a dominant 6-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. The 31-year-old Hellebuyck has led the league in appearances amongst goalies in four of the last seven seasons and is expected to be amongst the leaders again this season. Hellebuyck will likely return to the crease on Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Jets enter action as sizeable -266 home favorites against a Blackhawks team that was defeated 5-2 in their season-opening matchup against the Utah Hockey Club.

Hatakka suffered an injury in preseason that ultimately resulted in undergoing shoulder surgery. The 23-year-old had a legitimate shot of making the Devils out of training camp after Luke Hughes was announced out due to injury, but will now, unfortunately, be sidelined for the foreseeable future. In 12 games in 2023-24, he had two assists, 12 SOG and a +5 plus/minus while averaging just 14:39 TOI/GP.

Chisholm was absent from Minnesota's final practice before their opener on Thursday vs. Columbus due to an illness and will not be ready for the game as well. The 24-year-old defensemen will be fighting to get into the Wild lineup nightly as he attempts to establish himself as an everyday player after three goals, eight points and 18 PIMs in 29 games played in 2023-24.

Max Jones will be a healthy scratch on Thursday, allowing Tufte to make his Bruins debut. The 26-year-old Tufte spent most of the 2023-24 campaign in the AHL, tallying 45 points (23G / 22A) in 67 games with the Colorado Eagles. He has three points (1G / 2A) in 18 career NHL games.

Chisholm was absent from Minnesota's final practice before their opener on Thursday vs. Columbus due to an illness and looks to be out for the game as well. The 24-year-old defensemen will be fighting to get into the Wild lineup nightly as he attempts to establish himself as an everyday player after three goals, eight points and 18 PIMs in 29 games played in 2023-24.

Hellebuyck has been away from the team for two days due to a personal family issue but will be ready to start in goal for the Jets' season opener against the Edmonton Oilers. The 31-year-old American netminder was tremendous last season, winning his second Vezina trophy with a 2.39 GAA and .921 SV% in 60 games (37-19-4). That said, Hellebuyck and the Jets will be put to the test in their first game of the season against the high-flying offense of the Stanley Cup runner-ups.

Pesce did not play in the first two games of the season for the Devils in Prague as part of the NHL Global Series as he is still recovering from surgery for a fractured fibula. That said, with his presence at practice on Tuesday, Pesce's return seems to be on the immediate horizon. Pesce signed a six-year contract to join New Jersey in the offseason after nine successful seasons on Carolina's blueline. In 70 games in 2023-24, he had three goals, 13 points, 20 PIMs, and a +10 plus/minus while averaging 20:17 TOI/GP.

Hellebuyck is away from the team due to a personal family issue but is expected to play in the Jets' season opener on Wednesday against the Edmonton Oilers. The 31-year-old American netminder was tremendous last season, winning his second Vezina trophy with a 2.39 GAA and .921 SV% in 60 games (37-19-4).

Allen was traded to the Devils last March and went 6-6-1 with a 3.11 GAA and .900 SV% in 13 games. Over the last two seasons he has posted a pretty ugly .893 SV% across 76 games. With Jacob Markstrom starting the season opener on Friday, the Devils will turn to Allen in the second half of a back-to-back. New Jersey enter play as -140 favourites following yesterday’s 4-1 win.

With Brett Pesce injured, Casey seized the opportunity to break camp with the Devils and will make his NHL debut in Prague on Friday. The 20-year-old was a second-round pick (No.46 overall) in 2022 and had 45 points (7G / 38A) in 40 games at the University of Michigan last season. Casey, who will man the Devils' second power-play unit, had one assist, three SOG and two hits in his two preseason games.

It's safe to assume that Hughes will miss at least the first 15 games of the season, and he could miss 20+ games if he doesn't return for seven weeks. With Hughes sidelined it looks like Seamus Casey could make his NHL debut in the Devils' season opener. Casey has been running the Devils' second power-play unit in practice recently, indicating that he'll play on Friday.

With New Jersey taking part in the Prague Global Series that starts on October 4th, it appears they will be without one of their big off-season acquisitions after it was announced Brett Pesce is still recovering from surgery for a fractured fibula and is considered week-to-week. Pesce signed a six-year contract to join New Jersey in the offseason after nine successful seasons on Carolina's blueline. In 70 games in 2023-24, he had three goals, 13 points, 20 PIMs and a +10 plus/minus while averaging 20:17 TOI/GP.

New Jersey's defensive core continued to take injury hits on Thursday after it was announced Santeri Hatakka would be out "more than day-to-day" after leaving Thursday's preseason game. The 23-year-old had a legitimate shot of making the Devils out of training camp after Luke Hughes was announced out due to injury, but will now, unfortunately, be joining his fellow young defender. In 12 games in 2023-24, he had two assists, 12 SOG and a +5 plus/minus while averaging just 14:39 TOI/GP.

Bad news came out of New Jersey's camp on Thursday morning as they announced their star 21-year-old defender Luke Hughes suffered a left-shoulder injury during offseason training and is expected to miss the next 6-to-8 weeks as he recovers. The sophomore defenseman is expected to return between October 24th and November 7th and will play a key role in the Devils' back end. In 2023-24, he had nine goals, 47 points, 135 SOG, 28 PIMs and a -25 plus/minus in 82 games played.

Pittsburgh added to their forward depth on Tuesday by acquiring Cody Glass alongside a 2025 3rd-round pick (MIN) and a 2026 6th-round pick from Nashville for Jordan Frasca. The 25-year-old centre carries a cap hit of $2.5 million into 2023-24 and should fit in well in Pittsburgh's bottom six after a down season last year which saw him score only six goals and 13 points in 41 games played.