Hey, Devils Fans!
I hope you all have your coffee ready and are staying up late with us over on the East Coast, as we get set for a 10 p.m. EDT puck drop here in SJS! ☕️
Sal, the Devils lost with the MSG crew in the building?! Yes, I know... Dano, Don, Rachel, and I are still trying to figure out what part of our routine we messed up in Colorado, so we can fix it and avoid a repeat disaster tonight! 😅
But no, all joking aside, tonight’s game is all about the response we see from the Devils. Nobody is happy that the 8-game W streak ended, let alone in the ugly, dreadful fashion that it did. However, the Devils have banked themselves an 8-2-0 start to the season here, which provides them enough currency to “never think about this game again,” like Sheldon said he would be doing. I’m confident we will see the maturity of this team shine again tonight, in proving that they can put these one-off, bad losses in the rear-view mirror and bounce back the very next game, rather than letting one loss spiral out of control into a losing streak. 
I know it was only one game, but how did the Devils, specifically the D-core, weather the Avalanche at the Rock without Brett Pesce? After 48 hours, to make a blanket statement based on one game would not be fair. So, I decided to chalk it up to a perfect storm that hit the Devils. Colorado was winless in four games. It was Marky’s first game in 15 days. Sheldon shuffled 3 of the 4 forward lines and all three D pairings. The team had an off night on the PK, and the way they defended the rush was night and day compared to the first game vs. COL (3 Rush CA on Sunday vs. 8 on Tuesday).
Again, it is all about the response tonight so that Sheldon can burn the tape of the game in COL. There is no reason we should eventually find ourselves joking about “Pesce for Hart” with how deep this Devils D-Core is. 😂 
I’m not one to question whether Marky should have started this game or not, but in the end, the reality is that it didn't go well. In fact, the game couldn’t have gone any worse for him right from the first 18 seconds of the game, where he took a delay of game penalty that led to the first PPGA - and an ensuing goal 2:25 later to make it 2-0 COL just 4 mins in. Ultimately, the game ended with 8 GA (and 5 posts), the most GA of any game in Marky’s career.
He needs a solid bounce-back start, as the numbers in his starts are headed in the wrong direction since the start of the season. Knowing the competitor that Marky is, it is no surprise that he has a good track record (2-1-0) following games where he conceded 7+ goals. This is a good opportunity for Marky to get a few more days of rest, and I am confident that we will see his best start of the season when he starts in one of the B2B games this weekend (LAK/ANA).
As I said in my post earlier, it is also no surprise that Jake Allen will get the start tonight when you see his body of work in his last three starts here in SJS! 👀
Jake Allen is getting the nod for the #NJDevils tonight, who was outstanding in his last three starts in the Shark Tank!
All of my Quick Hits will drop at 9:15 PM EDT! pic.twitter.com/saPZcCAEso— Bryce Salvador (@BryceSalvador24) October 30, 2025
Lammikko's line (w/ Grits & Brownie) was great in COL. In their 8:37 of TOI on-ice together at 5v5, the Devils controlled 81.8% of the SAT share (9-2), 100% of the Shots (5-0), and 60% of the Scoring Chances (3-2), while holding COL without any HD Chances.
The Captain has a goal in 3 straight games @ SJS (3-4–7 PTS). I am hoping this is a sign that he will snap his 6-game goal drought tonight (0-6–6 PTS) and get rewarded for the fact that he is still playing to his competitive identity, leading the league in 50/50 puck battles won per 20 minutes.
Sheldon is going back to the two staples that have played well together, as the D-pairings will be reverted to Siegs/Dougie & Dilly/ Nemo, with Seamus in Pesce’s spot on Luke’s pair. Luke and Casey, aka “the Michigan pair,” will be a fun, dynamic pairing that will create some confusion for SJS in their DZ. It should be fun to watch!
Rarely do we close out two different season series in October, but that will be the case again in SJS, as we enter the California swing of this west coast trip. That brings me to the next item on my checklist, which is to SOLVE THE WEST COAST!!!
Last season, in a similar situation — following a home-and-home set against another very good team in CAR — the Devils went to Cali, and ultimately flew back home to NJ on a 4-game regulation losing streak... which still stands as the longest since calendar year 2023. It started with the loss in CAR, before losing in ANA, LA, and SJS. For whatever reason, this same schedule situation absolutely killed the momentum that the Devils were riding last season, so it’s absolutely critical that the Devils immediately put out the fire on this potential narrative and flip the script with a big win tonight in SJS!
Dominate the 2nd Period: In order to get the job done tonight, it’s important to look back at last week’s win vs. SJS to find the recipe for another 2 PTS. And, simply put, the Devils won that game in the second period. In the middle frame, they outshot the Sharks 13-0 - including 5 slot shots - and dominated OZ Poss. Time. It was the most dominant 20 minutes of the Devils' season to this point, and I hope they can tilt the ice in a similar fashion tonight during that long change period. 
Make 'em Pay on the PP: Following a streak of 6 consecutive PPGs, the NJD PP is in a bit of a dry spell right now, as they are goalless in their L2 GP. Just like last game vs. SJS, when Dougie buried a pair of PPGs, you have to make SJS and their #28-ranked PK (which is executing at just 66.7% on the season 😬) pay for any and all trips to the sin bin, as their PK is arguably their biggest weakness. When you don’t score, your PP needs to at least generate enough momentum for your next 5v5 shift to carry forward.
Missin' "Puck-Eater Pesh": And, yes, on the flip side, the NJD PK needs to get right back on track if/when they are called upon, having conceded 4 PPGs on 6 kills in COL. As Sheldon mentioned, this is where you are really missing NJD#22, as 3 of the 4 PPGA came from one-timers on COL’s left flank — the side that Pesce normally defends and earns his title as the “puck-eating master.” Entering tonight, he is still top-2 among qualified skaters in SH Blocks/60!
Be sure to join Rachel and me for our pregame show tonight as we recap the 8-2-0 start, break down the importance of the Devils' secondary scoring, and discuss some more keys to a bounce-back effort & win tonight in SJS. It all starts at 9:30 p.m. EDT on MSGSN!
-Sal
Here is some additional content from Tuesday night's broadcast! 
