New Jersey Devils at Tampa Bay Lightning: game preview
New JerseyDevils2026-27: 1-2-0 · 2 pts · 2025-26: 42-37-3 · 87 pts · 21stat
Tampa BayLightning2026-27: 2-1-0 · 4 pts · 2025-26: 50-26-6 · 106 pts · 5thNineteen points apart last season
New Jersey finished last season 21st in the league on 87 points. Tampa Bay finished 5th on 106.
Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.
Meeting number 138
Across 137 completed games, New Jersey lead the head-to-head 79-47-11.
Last 5 meetings
See all: Last 5 meetings →The table on each 2025-26 meeting night
League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 11 Oct 2025, New Jersey were 19th in the league and Tampa Bay 30th. By 11 Dec 2025 it was 16th and 9th.
New Jersey out-attempted Tampa Bay 182 to 164
Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.
New Jersey Devils
Tampa Bay Lightning
New Jersey have created the better chances, last 10 games
Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.
This season: 3 games for New Jersey, 3 for Tampa Bay. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
Last 10 games: 10 games for New Jersey, 10 for Tampa Bay.
2025-26: 82 games for New Jersey, 82 for Tampa Bay.
Power play and penalty kill, season and series
This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.
All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings
New Jersey
Small sampleTampa Bay
Small sampleSkaters to watch
Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.
Who has stopped this matchup
Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.
Expected starter after their game on 9 Mar: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.
Expected starter after their game on 8 Mar: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.
New Jersey crease
NJD · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 8 Mar
No appearances against Tampa Bay in the last meetings.
Tampa Bay crease
TBL · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 8 Mar
No appearances against New Jersey in the last meetings.
Scoring rates point to about 6.1 goals
No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.
Goals in the last 5 meetings
Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.
Scoring rates
New Jersey2.004.332.803.10
Tampa Bay2.672.333.542.82Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.
8 on the injury lists
New Jersey · injuries
Tampa Bay · injuries
Latest moves
See all: Latest moves →Claimed LW Jeremie Poirier off waivers.
Claimed LW Jeremie Poirier off waivers. Placed C/RW Marc McLaughlin, LD Vladislav Kolyachonok, G David Rittich, LW Riley Tufte, LD Topias Vilen, and C/RW Colin White on waivers.
Assigned Ds Mikael Diotte, Ethan Edwards, Jeremy Hanzel, Etienne Morin and Anton Silaev, Fs Josh Filmon, Lenni Hameenaho, Shane Lachance, Matyas Melovsky, Xavier Parent, Cam Squires and Ben Steeves and G Jakub Malek to Utica (AHL). Waived for the purpose of assignment to Utica Ds DJ King, Charles Leddy and Eamon Powell, Fs Tristan Ashbrook, Zachary Gallant, Gabe Klassen, Jack Malone, Justin Pearson, Ryan Schmelzer, Cristophe Tellier and Jermey Wilmer and Gs Jeremy Brodeur and Seth Eisele.
Placed C Jansen Harkins on waivers.
Placed D Michael Callahan on waivers.
Placed D Michael Callahan, G Mads Sogaard Nielsenon, LD Maxim Groshev, LW Jakob Pelletier and C Nicholas Abruzzese on waivers.
New Jersey · 2026 draft
See all: New Jersey · 2026 draft →Tampa Bay · 2026 draft
See all: Tampa Bay · 2026 draft →
Updated after every final