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NHL Gameday Preview: New Jersey Devils @ Columbus Blue Jackets - Game 9

October 22, 2013, 11:56 AM ET [152 Comments]
Todd Cordell
New Jersey Devils Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Match-up - New Jersey Devils (1-4-3) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (3-5-0)
Road/Home records - 0-4-2 -------------- 1-2-0
TV - MSG, Fox Sports-Ohio
Puck drop - 7:00 PM ET
Season series - 0-0
Last 10: Devils 1-4-3 / Blue Jackets 3-5-0
Projected starting goalies - Cory Schneider (NJD) v. Sergei Bobrovsky (CBJ)

Goals for/against per game

Columbus - 2.25/2.75
New Jersey - 2.12/3.00

Power play/Penalty Kill

Columbus - 20%/76.0%
New Jersey - 11.5%/86.4%

Here are the projected lines (subject to change) for the Blue Jackets:

Nick Foligno - Artem Anisimov - Marian Gaborik
Blake Comeau - Ryan Johansen - R.J. Umberger
Boone Jenner - Brandon Dubinsky - Cam Atkinson
Mark Letestu - Derek MacKenzie - Jared Boll

Jack Johnson - David Savard
Ryan Murray - James Wisniewski
Fedor Tyutin - Dalton Prout

Notable injuries: Nathan Horton, Matt Calvert.

Here are the projected lines (subject to change) for the Devils:

Rusty Olesz - Adam Henrique - Jaromir Jagr
Mattias Tedenby - Travis Zajac - Michael Ryder
Dainius Zubrus - Andrei Loktionov - Damien Brunner
Ryan Carter - Stephen Gionta - Steve Bernier

Bryce Salvador - Mark Fayne
Andy Greene - Marek Zidlicky
Anton Volchenkov - Peter Harrold

Some notes:

- The Devils power play has certainly struggled to this point, but their penalty kill has been excellent of late. They've killed off all nine penalties over the last three games and have the 4th best PK unit in the league.

- Tonight will mark Jagr's 1,400th career NHL game. After going pointless in his first two games as a Devil, he's stepped it up of late recording five points and and 17 shots over his last six games.

- Zidlicky has had his fair share of defensive lapses this year, but he's done what he's paid to do and that is create offense. He has seven assists through eight games.

- Pete DeBoer can say that Schneider is only starting because he won on Saturday, but I think his overall play this year may be just as much of a factor.

Schneider through four starts: 1.99GAA, .927SV%.
Martin Brodeur through four starts: 3.40GAA, .865SV%.

The right guy is starting.

- Speaking of Schneider, the last time he mended the nets opposite side of Bobrovsky, they both recorded shutouts in a Canucks shootout win.

- Gaborik enters this game on a two-game point streak and having recorded six points in his last five games. I expect his line will see a steady does of the Zajac line tonight.

- Despite the Devils slow start, they could be as little as one point out of a playoff spot with a win tonight. New Jersey is lucky they're playing in such a weak conference.

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