NEW JERSEY DEVILS (7-4-2) vs. FLAMES (5-4-1)

New Jersey continues its trek through Western Canada, stopping in Calgary on Friday night to face the Flames.

You can watch on MSGSN2 or listen on the Devils Hockey Network.

Read below for your game preview and pre-game story below. Tonight’s game is sponsored by Jaegar Lumber.

MORNING SKATE RECAP

Stay tuned for updates after the Devils morning skate in Calgary at 1:30 p.m. ET.

THE SCOOP

The Devils began their Western Canada road trip with a dominant victory against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night and captain Nico Hischier continued to ravage his way through the league with his league-leading 10th goal of the season and a three-point night (1g-2a). The Devils are coming off a game where they scored at even strength, on the power play and shorthanded and improved to 7-2-0 against the Canucks since a combination of Jack, Luke and Quinn Hughes have gone head-to-head at the NHL level.

Arguably the biggest move of the off-season for the Devils was acquiring goaltender Jacob Markstrom from Calgary, in exchange for defenseman Kevin Bahl and picks. While there has been no confirmation of who the starting goaltender will be for New Jersey, this game will mark the first return to Alberta for Markstrom, who spent the past four seasons in a Flames jersey before joining New Jersey. Markstrom posted his first shutout of the season against one of his other former teams – the Canucks – on Wednesday night.

The Flames are in a stretch of four straight losses, the most recent coming against the Utah Hockey Club. They have given up 10 goals in their past two games while managing just a single goal of offense. Their most recent losses are to the Vegas Golden Knights by a 5-0 margin and Utah 5-1. Calgary is 2-2-1 at the Saddledome this season.

The Flames recalled forward Matt Coronato from their AHL affiliate, the Wranglers, and assigned forward Sam Honzek to the AHL on Thursday.

WHO’S HOT

Devils: Nico Hischier continues his tear through the beginning of the season with five goals and seven points in his past four games. He is the first player in the NHL this season to reach double-digits in goals, scoring his 10th against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.

Flames: Defenseman Rasmus Andersson leads the Flames with 10 points in 10 games (4g-6a)

INJURIES

Devils: Lazar (left knee injury, out indefinitely), Hatakka (upper-body)

Flames: None

REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS

• Nov. 1 at Calgary
• March 20 at New Jersey

STATS LEADERS

GAME NOTES

• Nico Hischier became the first player to reach 10 goals in the NHL this season in just his 13th game. According to NHL PR, only two players in franchise history have hit the 10-goal mark in fewer team games: Paul Gardner (9 GP in 1977-78) and Pat Verbeek (10 GP in 1986-87 & 12 GP in 1987-88).
• New Jersey improved to 3-0-0 against Western Conference teams this season
• Jacob Markstrom earned his first shutout of the season and the Devils second of the year (J. Allen, Oct. 14, 3-0, vs UTA). The two shutouts early in the season already surpass the 2023-24 season when the Devils registered just a single shutout.