Islanders vs. Devils: Betting odds, lineups, Jordan Eberle needs to score

2 of 3

NEWARK, NJ – OCTOBER 4: Nikita Gusev #97 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates scoring a goal during the first period against the Winnipeg Jets at the Prudential Center on October 4, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) /

Players to Watch

Jordan Eberle. RW. . New York Islanders.

Jordan Eberle hasn’t put up a point in his last three games. Worst yet is that he has a single goal to his name over his last 13 games. Eberle needs to start putting pucks in the back of the net.

At his current pace, he’s going to end the season with eight goals to his name. His lowest return is 16 goals, and that’s from the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.

The Islanders need Eberle to start finding the net and soon. The Isles might have found more goals with Mathew Barzal becoming a 30+ goal scorer, but it isn’t ‘found’ if Eberle regresses to this sub-15 goals-a-season player.

If he’s going to break that he might want to get the puck on net more frequently. He has seven shots over his last three games, an average of 2.3 per game.

Nikita Gusev. LW. . New Jersey Devils.

After a slow start to the season, Nikita Gusev has been showing why the Devils were willing to give up two second-round picks and $9 million over two years even though he hadn’t played a single NHL game.

The Russian is riding a four-game point streak with six points. Over 36 games this season he has 23 points, putting him on pace for 52 at the end of the year.

Islanders fans were hoping to bring in Gusev and Lou even inquired about the winger. But the Isles GM soured over contract demands.

Now we get to see Gusev up close for the first time this season. We get to see for ourselves is the Isles could have used Gusev or not.

Home/NY Islanders News