Devils Urged to Chase $76 Million Winger

The St. Louis Blues visit the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Thursday, November 5, 2026.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST.

This is a matchup between two teams heading in different directions early in the 2026-27 season.

The Devils enter the game with a record of 10-5-0, good for 20 points.

The Blues sit at 7-7-1, with 15 points.

New Jersey is coming off a 4-3 shootout win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night at Prudential Center.

That victory handed the Oilers their first road loss of the season.

The Devils controlled much of the five-on-five play in that game.

Penalty trouble late in the second period let Edmonton back into the contest.

Connor Brown buried a rebound on the power play at 7:39 of the second period.

Jack Hughes followed at 14:50 with a shot off the crossbar and in.

The Blues, meanwhile, fell 3-1 to the New York Rangers on Monday.

That result snapped New York's four-game losing streak.

It also left St. Louis short of a three-game winning streak, a pattern that has followed the franchise for some time.

Adam Fox keyed the New York effort.

INJURY REPORT

The Blues went into the weekend without defenseman Colton Parayko.

He is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Forward Alexey Toropchenko returned on October 27 after an upper-body injury suffered on opening night in Dallas.

PROSPECT WATCH

Colin Fitzgerald, taken 203rd overall by St. Louis in the 2026 NHL Draft, has 17 points in 17 games with the OHL's Soo Greyhounds.

He has eight goals and nine assists, with a power-play goal and a plus-five rating.

The center has 78 points in 128 career OHL games.

He is committed to Providence College for next season.

OFF THE ICE

The Blues and Fanatics unveiled a "Hometown Remix" uniform this week, along with an accompanying apparel and headwear collection.

DEVILS ROSTER MOVE

The Devils cleared their goaltending surplus on Sunday, sending Remi Poirier to Washington for a 2027 seventh-round pick.

New Jersey had claimed Poirier off waivers from Dallas earlier this season.

They would have needed to expose him again to assign him to Utica.

He never appeared in a game for the Devils, backing up a handful of nights.

Poirier led the AHL with 52 appearances last season, going 27-19-6 with a .912 save percentage.

ST. LOUIS BLUES PROJECTED LINES

Line 1: Dylan Holloway – Robert Thomas – Jimmy Snuggerud.

Line 2: Connor McMichael – Mason McTavish – Jonatan Berggren.

Line 3: Jake Neighbours – Dalibor Dvorsky – Pavel Buchnevich.

Line 4: Alexey Toropchenko – Pius Suter – Ross Johnston.

Pair 1: Philip Broberg – Brandon Carlo.

Pair 2: Cam Fowler – Adam Jiříček.

Pair 3: Theo Lindstein – Justin Barron.

Goaltenders: Joel Hofer – Jordan Binnington.

ST. LOUIS BLUES SPECIAL TEAMS

Power play, First unit: Jimmy Snuggerud – Jake Neighbours – Mason McTavish – Robert Thomas – Philip Broberg.

Power play, Second unit: Dylan Holloway – Pavel Buchnevich – Connor McMichael – Adam Jiříček – Cam Fowler.

Penalty kill, First unit: Pius Suter – Jake Neighbours – Philip Broberg – Brandon Carlo.

Penalty kill, Second unit: Robert Thomas – Alexey Toropchenko – Cam Fowler – Theo Lindstein.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS PROJECTED LINES

Line 1: Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Luke Evangelista.

Line 2: Arseny Gritsyuk – Jack Hughes – Jesper Bratt.

Line 3: Anthony Mantha – Evan Rodrigues – Jesper Boqvist.

Line 4: Amadeus Lombardi – Cody Glass – Connor Brown.

Pair 1: Luke Hughes – Brett Pesce.

Pair 2: Jonas Siegenthaler – Dougie Hamilton.

Pair 3: Declan Chisholm – Johnathan Kovacevic.

Goaltenders: Connor Hellebuyck – Jake Allen.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS SPECIAL TEAMS

Power play, First unit: Jesper Bratt – Nico Hischier – Connor Brown – Jack Hughes – Luke Hughes.

Power play, Second unit: Timo Meier – Luke Evangelista – Arseny Gritsyuk – Dougie Hamilton – Johnathan Kovacevic.

ARESENY GRITSYUK'S HOT START

One of the biggest stories for the Devils this season has been the emergence of winger Arseny Gritsyuk.

Fans were excited when the then-prospect signed his entry-level contract at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.

His KHL success as a relatively young player had everyone hopeful he could provide supplemental offense at a bargain price.

In his first North American season, Gritsyuk posted 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points in 66 games.

He signed a three-year deal at a cap hit of $3.5 million per season.

Gritsyuk has been off to a great start in 2026-27.

The infancy of the season saw him begin on the third line.

He was then slotted in next to Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes for the sixth game of the campaign.

Up to that point, he had registered one goal and one assist.

After the Detroit game, Gritsyuk exploded.

He put up five goals in his next five games.

He then added two more against Vegas for seven total goals and three assists in his last nine games.

With eight goals in 15 contests total, Gritsyuk is currently on pace for 44-45 goals across the entire season.

That would be top five all-time for goals in a season for a Devils player.

There are concerns about whether this pace can be sustained.

Over his last nine games, Gritsyuk is on a 65-goal pace across a full 84-game season.

His current shooting percentage of 22.2% is likely unsustainable.

However, several factors have changed that could result in Gritsyuk continuing to score at a higher clip.

Playing with Hughes and Bratt gives him more opportunities to put pucks on net.

Both Hughes and Bratt are known more for their playmaking than their goal-scoring.

This means Arseny is the shooter on that line.

Being paired with Bratt and Hughes also means more ice time.