Match-up - Columbus Blue Jackets (29-24-5) @ New Jersey Devils (24-22-13) Road/Home records - 13-13-3 -------------- 13-7-7 TV - MSG Plus 2, FS-O Puck drop - 7:00 p.m. ET Season series - Jackets lead 3-0 Last 10: Blue Jackets 5-4-1 | Devils 4-4-2 Projected starting goalies - Sergei Bobrovsky vs Cory Schneider
Projected lines for the Blue Jackets:
Boone Jenner - Ryan Johansen - Nathan Horton Nick Foligno - Artem Anisimov - R.J. Umberger Matt Calvert - Brandon Dubinsky - Cam Atkinson Mark Letestu - Derek MacKenzie - Marian Gaborik
Jack Johnson - James Wisniewski Ryan Murray - Dalton Prout Nikita Nikitin - David Savard
Projected lines for the Devils:
Dainius Zubrus - Travis Zajac - Jaromir Jagr Adam Henrique - Patrik Elias - Damien Brunner Ryane Clowe - Andrei Loktionov - Michael Ryder Ryan Carter - Stephen Gionta - Steve Bernier
Andy Greene - Mark Fayne Bryce Salvador - Marek Zidlicky Eric Gelinas - Jon Merrill
Game notes:
- If there was any doubt about this being Cory Schneider's net, that should be all but gone as he will make his 7th consecutive start for the Devils tonight. He's been lights out the last couple months as he's allowed two goals or less in 13 of his last 14 starts and has a .944 save percentage in that span. He has gotten little to no goal support all season and considering this is the Devils first game back from the Olympic break, and there may be some rust, I don't expect that to change - at least tonight. They'll need another quality start from Schneider.
- The Blue Jackets roster may not scare you, but they're a good team. They have a nice balance in scoring (six players with 30+ points) and both Nathan Horton and Marian Gaborik are finally healthy again. Not only that, but their possession numbers have been on the rise for a while now and Sergei Bobrovsky appears to be getting back into Vezina form. This will be a tough game.
- Speed kills, especially when you're going up against the Devils. There has been no better example of that this season than Cam Atkinson. The 24-year-old speedster has six points (including two game-winning goals) in just three games against New Jersey this season. The Devils will need to be on the lookout for him tonight.
- The Devils have killed off 32 off their last 35 penalties (91.4%) and as a result they boast the most effective penalty killing unit in the league at 87.4%. If the Devils want to claw their way into the playoffs, they'll need their PK to remain at or near the top of the league.
- Eric Gelinas will make his return to the Devils lineup after being sent to Albany and missing the final four games before the break. The Devils' power play, which was clicking at over 20% with him on the team, went 0-12 without him and the team as a whole is 2-6-6 on the year when he doesn't play. His return to the lineup should help the Devils a lot, especially offensively. He has 22 points in 44 games on the season.
- Jaromir Jagr entered the break having picked up eight assists in eight games. If he's able to pick up where he left off and record an assist tonight he'll tie Marcel Dionne for 9th all-time with 1,040 assists.
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