Boston Bruins HC Joe Sacco makes his feelings crystal clear on 'dangerous' Devils' recent resurgence ahead of tonight's clash

Joe Sacco and the Boston Bruins are in New Jersey tonight to take on the Devils for the first time during the 2024-25 season. A lot has changed since the two teams last met in Jan. 2024.

The Devils had a disappointing 2023-24 campaign where they missed the playoffs by 10 points, leading to coach firings and roster turnover. Sheldon Keefe has taken over as the Devils bench boss, and the team has made significant player additions, including Jacob Markstrom, Brett Pesce, Brenden Dillon and Stefan Noesen.

The busy offseason has New Jersey thriving 49 games into the season with a 26-17-6 record, good for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Bruins head coach Joe Sacco spoke highly of the new-look Devils in his pregame media availability.

(00:00) "They are a dangerous team offensively and they've been playing much better defensively," Sacco said. ...

He then mentioned how his team needs to play to neutralize the high-flying offensive attack they'll be going up against tonight.

"Quick strike team, good transition game, going to have to do a good job here tonight through the blue lines, making sure that we're pretty sound, managing the puck effectively for us is going to be one of the keys, not feeding their transition."

Wednesday night's game is the first of three matchups between Boston and New Jersey in 2024-25. They won't see one another until Apr. 8 and 15 to cap off the regular season.

The Bruins have gone 15-10-3 since Joe Sacco took over as head coach

Joe Sacco took over for the former Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery on Nov. 19. Boston had an 8-9-3 record at the time.

Sacco has managed to turn the Bruins season around, as the team has gone 15-10-3 in the 28 games under their interim head coach. The Bruins have 52 points, tied for a wildcard position in the Eastern Conference with the Ottawa Senators (52 points) and Montreal Canadiens (52 points).

Sacco and his team need to continue to pile up points as the Eastern Conference playoff race is as tight as ever. Eight teams are separated by just five points, all fighting for two wildcard spots.

The Bruins will continue their playoff push against the New Jersey Devils on the road tonight at Prudential Center. The puck drops at 7 p.m. ET.