All Hallows Eve Matinee: New Jersey Devils at Tampa Bay preview

by John Fontana on Oct 31, 2009 10:47 AM EDT in Game previews Comment 0 comments

WHERE: St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
WHEN: 3:00 PM EDT
MEDIA: Sun Sports TV (Cable ), 620WDAE (Radio)

The New Jersey Devil's will take something from this game, if they like it or not: That Halloween just does not feel right when the weather is bright, sunny, hot (we're talking high near 90) and humid... But then again? Halloween parties when the sun is still high in the sky (3 in the afternoon, for example) just doesn't feel right either...

And that's what we have to endure today -- matinee. The horror, the horror...

But lets forget the sideshow because that's got no bearing on the game being played this afternoon (well, unless goalie Martin Brodeur is a late scratch with nausea caused by eating too much Halloween candy way too early in the day). The Lightning are not only looking to build on Thursday's 5-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators but they are also out to redeem themselves after their last-minute-loss to the Devils on October 8th....

It'd be nice to close out the month with 13 points in 11 games... ooh, 13? Halloween? Scary...

Antero Niittymaki is due to start between the pipes for the Lightning this afternoon while Martin Brodeur will be starting for the Devils. Devil's d-man Johnny Oduya will not be playing today after sufrering an injury during the Devils 2-1 win against the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.

The Devils have a perfect record on the road (6-0-0) and are in third place in the Atlantic division with 14 points in 11 games... They also can boast a perfectly even Goals-for and goals-allowed average of 2.46. How many other teams can boast this? The Devils also have a respectable 80% rate on the penalty kill and a 16.4% conversion rate on the power play.