Preview: Blues at Devils

[December 09, 2016]  The New Jersey Devils look to bounce back quickly and extend their season-opening home point streak when they host the St. Louis Blues on Friday. New Jersey suffered a 5-2 loss in Montreal on Thursday but returns to the friendly confines of Prudential Center, where it owns an 8-0-2 record.

Taylor Hall continues to excel since returning from knee surgery, as he recorded a goal and an assist against the Canadiens for his third consecutive multi-point performance. While the Devils have been fantastic at home, St. Louis has struggled on the road, falling to 3-7-1 with Thursday's 3-2 setback against the New York Islanders in the opener of its four-game trip. Vladimir Tarasenko, who leads the Blues with 28 points, notched an assist in the loss to avoid a third straight game without landing on the scoresheet. The Devils and Blues will conclude their two-game season series Thursday in St. Louis.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), MSG (New Jersey)

ABOUT THE BLUES (15-8-4): Alex Steen was kept off the scoresheet Thursday, leaving him one assist away from tying Pierre Turgeon (221) for ninth place on the franchise list among forwards. Brad Hunt was recalled from Chicago of the American Hockey League on Thursday but did not make his debut for St. Louis as he was a healthy scratch against the Islanders. The 28-year-old defenseman, who leads the AHL with 29 points in 23 games, recorded a goal and two assists in 21 contests with Edmonton over the previous three campaigns.

ABOUT THE DEVILS (12-8-6): The 25-year-old Hall has collected three goals and four assists during his streak after being kept off the scoresheet in his first game back and trails team leader Travis Zajac (21) by two points despite missing eight contests. Pavel Zacha has missed two straight contests after cutting his lip on Saturday and undergoing dental work early in the week. The 19-year-old Czech has recorded two goals and five assists in 24 games this season.

OVERTIME

1. The Devils are 3-0-1 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season.

2. Each of St. Louis' last three games have been 3-2 decisions, with the Blues splitting a pair of overtime contests.

3. New Jersey LW Mike Cammalleri is one point shy of 600 for his career.

PREDICTION: Devils 3, Blues 1

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