Red Wings at Devils
Mike Cammalleri is playing a big role in the resurgence of the New Jersey Devils this season and has been especially productive of late. Cammalleri has recorded four goals and three assists in his last four games and looks to remain hot Friday, when the Devils host a Detroit Red Wings team that is riding a 12-game point streak (8-0-4).
Cammalleri was held without a point in Tuesday's 3-2 shootout loss at Toronto but registered five shots and has 11 goals to go along with 19 assists in 28 games overall. New Jersey must find its top form against the surging Red Wings, who are looking for back-to-back wins after rallying to edge Montreal 3-2 on Thursday. Detroit has gotten healthier with forwards Pavel Datsyuk and Brad Richards at full strength, and that has led to an offense that has produced 19 goals in five games this month. Darren Helm joined the party with a pair of goals Thursday and captain Henrik Zetterberg has points in three straight games to lead the team with 23.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, MSG Plus (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (16-8-5): Justin Abdelkader is on a roll with five goals in his last five games, including a power-play tally to tie Thursday's contest, after scoring one over the previous 22 contests. Abdelkader plays with Zetterberg and rookie Dylan Larkin, who has notched a team-high 11 goals and owns an impressive plus-20 rating. Petr Mrazek was in net Thursday, and coach Jeff Blashill told reporters he had not decided on Mrazek or Jimmy Howard (4-0-1 in his last five games) as Friday’s starter.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (14-10-4): New Jersey has earned points in six of its last seven games (3-1-3) but is expected to be without leading goal scorer Adam Henrique after he left Tuesday’s contest with a lower-body injury. While Cammalleri has led the way, Henrique (13 goals) and newcomers Lee Stempniak (22 points) and Kyle Palmieri (12 goals, five in the last six games) have made major contributions. Cory Schneider has been a consistent force, allowing fewer than three goals in 14 of his last 16 games.
OVERTIME
1. The Devils placed Travis Zajac (upper body) on injured reserve Thursday and recalled fellow C Joseph Blandisi.
2. Detroit D Niklas Kronwall has registered two goals, three assists and a plus-3 rating in his last seven contests.
3. The Red Wings have won the last four meetings, scoring a total of 18 goals.