Happy Columbus Day, Columbus and Happy Canadian Thanksgiving Hockey World! Today we get the home opener for the quarter century celebration of the Columbus Blue Jackets as they host the New Jersey Devils in their first meeting of the season of four and first of two at Nationwide Arena. This is available on MSG and FDSN.
New Jersey made the postseason in their first season with Sheldon Keefe, and they continue to tweak with the roster as they look to contend.
Out
Erik Haula was traded to Nashville.
Santeri Hatakka headed to Europe.
Nolan Foote signed with Florida.
Brian Dummoulin got overpaid in Los Angeles.
Justin Dowling joined the Rangers.
Samuel Laberge and Calen Addison moved to San Jose.
Shane Bowers was dealt to San Jose.
Curtis Lazar signed with Edmonton.
Daniel Sprong signed in the KHL.
Nathan Bastian signed with the Dallas Stars.
Kurtis MacDermid was dealt to the Ottawa Senators.
In
Jermey Hanzel and a draft pick was the return package for Haula.
Thomas Bordeleau was acquired from the Sharks.
Zach MacEwen was the return for MacDermid from Ottawa
Juho Lammikko signed from free agency.
Connor Brown reunited with Keefe in Jersey.
Evgenii Dadonov joined the Devils
Angus Crookshank signed as a free agent
Keys to Victory
- Michigan Mashup — lots of former Wolverines. Glendenning, both Hughes, Fantilli, Johnson, and Werenski.
- Pucks on Goals — Markstrom is 1-1 with a 4.04 and 0.837 save percentage. Get the pucks on the net, and something will happen. Jake Allen has yet to start a game.
- Silence the Stars — Bratt, the Hughes Brothers, and Meier all have produced early. Lowering their production will produce opportunity for the defense to give to the offense.
Projected Lineups
New Jersey Devils
Ondrej Palat -- Jack Hughes -- Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier -- Nico Hischier -- Dawson Mercer
Arseny Gritsyuk -- Cody Glass -- Conner Brown
Paul Cotter -- Luke Glendening -- Brian Halonen
Luke Hughes -- Brett Pesce
Jonas Siegenthaler -- Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon -- Simon Nemec
Jake Allen
Jacob Markstrom
Scratched: Dennis Cholowski
Injured: Stefan Noesen (lower body), Johnathan Kovacevic (lower body), Marc McLoughlin (upper body), Seamus Casey (lower body), Evgenii Dadonov (fractured hand), Zack MacEwen (undisclosed)
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dmitri Voronkov -- Sean Monahan -- Kirill Marchenko
Boone Jenner -- Adam Fantilli -- Cole Sillinger
Kent Johnson -- Charlie Coyle -- Mathieu Olivier
Zach Aston-Reese -- Isac Lundestrom -- Miles Wood
Zach Werenski -- Dante Fabbro
Ivan Provorov -- Damon Severson
Jake Christiansen -- Denton Mateychuk
Jet Greaves
Elvis Merzlikins
Scratched: Yegor Chinakhov
Injured: Erik Gudbranson (upper body)
Players to Watch
New Jersey — Luke Hughes — leading the team with 4 helpers in the 2 opening games.
Columbus — Kent Johnson — pointless to start the year, and his production is vital for this young booming offense. He must find his way as he is an undervalued and under appreciated forward in this league.
Predicting the Final Score
NJD — 2
CBJ — 3
Gambling Odds
NHL Draft Kings has the Blue Jackets at a -118 and the Devils a -102. Very close game to call.