On Friday night the New Jersey Devils' home woes continued as they dropped their 7th consecutive game at the Prudential Center.
They spotted the Calgary Flames a couple goals early and battled back to take the lead before eventually conceding two in a row and falling in overtime.
The Devils are on the road tonight so in theory, they may actually have a shot at winning. Two points are anything but a sure thing against Columbus, though.
The Blue Jackets are tied for 2nd in the NHL with 71 points to their credit and they have been marvelous at home this season winning 18 times in 24 tries (75%).
While the Devils have been better on the road than at home of late, they have just 11 wins in 29 games away from home this year so their play still leaves a lot to be desired.
This could be another disappointing night.
Here are the expected line combinations for New Jersey:
Taylor Hall - Travis Zajac - Kyle Palmieri Miles Wood - Adam Henrique - Mike Cammalleri Pavel Zacha - Jacob Josefson - Stefan Noesen Joseph Blandisi - Sergei Kalinin - P.A. Parenteau
Andy Greene - Ben Lovejoy Kyle Quincey - Damon Severson Seth Helgeson - Steve Santini
Keith Kinkaid
And the expected lines for the Blue Jackets (via dailyfaceoff.com):
Brandon Saad - Alexander Wennberg - Nick Foligno Boone Jenner - Brandon Dubinsky - Cam Atkinson Matt Calvert - William Karlsson - Josh Anderson Scott Hartnell - Lukas Sedlak - Sam Gagner
Zach Werenski - Seth Jones Ryan Murray - Jack Johnson Scott Harrington - Dalton Prout
Sergei Bobrovsky
A few notes:
1) The Saad - Wennberg - Foligno line has been outstanding. In more than 500 minutes together they control ~53% of the shot attempts and have a plus-10 goal differential. All three players are on pace for at least 60 points, too. The Devils will have their hands full with this trio.
2) Columbus has two really talented power play units so it should be no surprise they are the league's best team up a man converting on almost 25% of their power plays. Discipline is always important, but especially so tonight.
3) Palmieri struggled out of the gate but he has caught fire tallying six goals and nine points over his last 10 games. Of late, he's been the consistent scoring threat the Devils are paying him to be.
Tonight's game is scheduled for 7:00 and can be seen on MSG and FS-O.