Tonight the New Jersey Devils are in Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets in the first of a monstrous home-and-home series.
The Jackets enter this contest as hot as anyone having won eight of their last 10 games and surged to the top of the league's toughest division as a result.
They're fully deserving of that top spot, too, as they've been getting offensive contributions from all throughout their lineup, Sergei Bobrovsky has been playing Vezina-caliber hockey, and they've out-chanced their opponents by enough to rank 1st in 5v5 Expected Goals For%.
Meanwhile, the Devils have gone a respectable 5-3-2 in their last 10 games and are on the verge of freefalling down the standings, anyway.
A bounce-back win would have them (at worst) tied for 1st in the Metro in points while a loss, and some unfavorable results elsewhere, could leave the Devils just two points ahead of the New York Rangers, who rank 6th(!) in the Metro.
The division may be even more competitive than what anyone expected so the Devils' strong start doesn't give them nearly as much breathing room as they'd have if they played in the woeful Atlantic Division.
They need to continue winning games, and they need to do so against some division opponents.
Here are the projected lineups:
New Jersey
Taylor Hall - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt Marcus Johansson - Travis Zajac - Drew Stafford Brian Gibbons - Blake Coleman - Stefan Noesen Miles Wood - Brian Boyle - Jimmy Hayes
Andy Greene - Sami Vatanen John Moore - Damon Severson Will Butcher - Ben Lovejoy
Cory Schneider
Columbus (via DailyFaceoff.com)
Artemi Panarin - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Josh Anderson Nick Foligno - Alex Wennberg - Cam Atkinson Matt Calvert - Brandon Dubinsky - Oliver Bjorkstrand Boone Jenner - Lucas Sedlak - Tyler Motte
Zach Werenski - Seth Jones Jack Johnson - David Savard Scott Harrington - Markus Nutivaara
Sergei Bobrovsky
What to watch for:
1) The only thing worse than facing Sergei Bobrovsky is facing Sergei Bobrovsky on home soil. The guy is an absolute animal in his own building. A season ago, he posted a .941 save percentage at home. This season, he owns a .948 save percentage in Columbus. The Devils almost certainly won't be scoring much so they need to be good without the puck if they're going to have a chance.
2) Johansson has zero points and two shots in two games since returning from a concussion and has one point in his last nine overall. Zajac has zero points in nine games since returning to the lineup. Stafford has two points in his last 14 games. That's some 2nd line, huh? If the Devils are going to tread water in an extremely difficult division, they need these guys to step up. The top line can't score every night and right now they're not getting much – any? – help.
3) If Stafford, in particular, continues to struggle early on, I'd like to see Wood moved up into the top-6. He ranks 2nd on the Devils in 5v5 shots/60 and 3rd in 5v5 scoring chances/60. He could help boost a stagnant offense.
4) In ~90 minutes together at 5v5, the PB&J line (Columbus' top unit) has controlled 67.8%(!!) of the shot attempts, own an expected goals for% of almost 62%, and they rank 1st, 2nd, and 3rd among Blue Jackets forwards in 5v5 points. The Devils are going to have their hands full trying to slow them down.
5) Columbus is a great team but their power play has been an absolute disaster this season. They've scored just seven times on the man advantage – fewest in the league – and rank 25th in shot attempts against while on the PP. Don't be surprised if the Devils are able to go on the attack and create a couple scoring opportunities.
Puck drop is just after 7:00 p.m. Eastern and can be seen on MSG+ and FS-O.