The first in the Metropolitan division New Jersey Devils travel to Winnipeg to take the second place in the Central division Jets in a Saturday afternoon clash of early-season NHL titans that no one actually expected to be titans at any point this season.

There is something to be said for a team that finds a way to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat which is exactly what the Jets did on Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers. The team looked lethargic, fell behind 2-0 after the first period and even when they at least stopped the bleeding of goals, it wasn’t as if they were putting much pressure on the Flyers offensively. A second-period goal from Matthieu Perreault and stellar goaltending from Connor Hellebuyck gave Winnipeg a fighting chance late in the game. Mark Scheifele tied things up with seconds left in the game and then the team was just a little bit better at the skills contest at the end of the game to earn the extra point. The Jets now have their second three-game win streak of the season – last season it took until March 21 for the team to pick up such an accomplishment – and as such Paul Maurice has decided to not change a thing lineup wise for today’s game.

New Jersey had one of the worst hockey clubs in the 2016-17 campaign, so as surprising as the Jets start to the season has been, the Devils has been even more of a shock. How have they turned it around? Much like the Jets, goaltending has been key as Corey Schnieder has a 7-3-2 record with a .924 save percentage. They’ve also had a balanced scoring attack as they have five players with 10 or more points and two additional players beyond that – one of them being former Jet Drew Stafford – who have five or more goals. (For comparison’s sake, the Jets as well have five players with 10 or more points as well, but only four players total who have tallied five or more goals. The Devils in total have five players who can make that claim) The Devils did lose in overtime to the Leafs on Thursday but have managed to pick up points in their last four games and five of their last six in total (3-1-2).

The Jets enjoyed some success against the Devils last season going a perfect 2-0-0. They won 3-2 at home last November and then in March snuck away with a 4-3 shootout win in New Jersey. Overall the last 11 games have gone very well for the Jets as they sport an 8-1-2 record. If the game today ends in regulation, there is a good chance the Jets are winning it as they’ve won seven of the last eight games against Jersey when the game has concluded in regulation time. The roles switch though if the game sees any overtime or a shootout, as the Devils have won four of the last five against Winnipeg in games that needed extra time.

Gameday Prediction…

Ideally, the Jets will come out with a little more fire given the lesson they learned against Philly. Jersey is going to try and grind out a low-scoring road win and if they get the lead early, it will be an uphill battle for the Jets to get an equalizer. The first goal always is key in most NHL games, but even more so today. The Jets will get it and use it to gain a fourth win in a row. Jets win 3-2.