Match-up - Columbus Blue Jackets (16-17-4) @ New Jersey Devils (15-16-7) Road/Home records - 7-9-2 -------------- 7-5-4 TV - MSG Plus, FS-O Puck drop - 7:00 PM ET Season series - Blue Jackets2-0 Last 10: Blue Jackets 6-3-1 / Devils 4-4-2 Projected starting goalies - Curtis McElhinney vs Martin Brodeur
Projected lines for the Blue Jackets:
Nick Foligno - Ryan Johansen - RJ Umberger Artem Anisimov - Brandon Dubinsky - Cam Atkinson Blake Comeau - Derek MacKenzie - Jack Skille Boone Jenner - Mark Letestu - Corey Tropp
Jack Johnson - Fedor Tyutin James Wisniewski - Ryan Murray Nikita Nikitin - David Savard
Injuries: Nathan Horton, Marian Gaborik, Matt Calvert, Jared Boll, Sergei Bobrovsky.
Projected lines for the Devils:
*Unknown where he will play
Dainius Zubrus - Travis Zajac - Jaromir Jagr Mattias Tedenby* - Patrik Elias - Ryane Clowe* Reid Boucher - Adam Henrique - Michael Ryder Steve Bernier - Stephen Gionta - Cam Janssen
Andy Greene - Mark Faye Eric Gelinas - Marek Zidlicky Anton Volchenkov - Jon Merrill
Injuries: Bryce Salvador, Adam Larsson, Ryan Carter.
Game notes:
- Despite having a severely depleted lineup that has forced their top two wingers and a Vezina winning goaltender, among others, out of the lineup, the Blue Jackets have managed to stay afloat in playoff hunt. That's in large part due to the weakness of the conference and their division in particular, but it's impressive nonetheless. New Jersey has struggled against mediocre-to-poor teams all season long and that's certainly a trend they need to break.
- Speaking of struggling, the Devils have struggled against the Blue Jackets as they have lost by an aggregate score of 9-5 in their two prior meetings. After their dud against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday the Devils can ill-afford a division loss to a team one point behind them in the standings. They had a chance to create some space and get a nice cushion above Columbus last time they played them and they failed to take advantage.
- Travis Zajac probably had his worst game of the season on Tuesday after an excellent string of hockey that saw him get on the scoresheet on a regular basis while dominating possession against upper-echelon opponents on a regular basis. Zajac never seems to get too down on himself, so I expect he'll be able to bounce back nicely. My guess is he'll get the honors of covering the red-hot Ryan Johansen, though Dubinsky's success against New Jersey could lead to otherwise.
- Michael Ryder has scored a goal in both games against Columbus this season. Given the Devils' struggles to put the puck in the net this season, they certainly hope Ryder continues to add to that streak tonight.
- Cam Atkinson has five points in two games against New Jersey this season and his speed has been a big issue for them. The Devils will need to do a better job of sticking with him and not allowing him to dance around defenders. If you give him space to accelerate, he'll blow right by you. New Jersey's defenseman need to play him a little tighter, but they need to make sure they don't get caught flat footed - especially against this guy.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have been flat out bad when it comes to possession numbers at full strength this season and Curtis McElhinney is currently their starting goaltender. There is no reason the Devils shouldn't win this hockey game.
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