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G46 New Jersey Devils @ Columbus Blue Jackets: Five things to watch

January 15, 2019, 11:14 AM ET [33 Comments]
Todd Cordell
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Five things to watch when the New Jersey Devils take on the Columbus Blue Jackets:

1. Another stiff test

Last night the Devils took on one of the league's most dynamic players in Patrick Kane. They had no answer. Kane scored twice, picked up a pair of primary assists, and recorded nine shots on goal on 13 attempts. It was one of the most dominant offensive performances you'll see.

Tonight the Devils get another very tough draw when they take on the Artemi Panarin - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Cam Atkinson line. It is not an exaggeration to say they might be the best offensive unit in the NHL. Their numbers certainly put them in the conversation.



The Devils are struggling mightily in their own zone right now – no team has allowed more 5v5 shot attempts/60 over the last 10 games – and are in the latter half of a back-to-back. It could be a good night for Columbus' big three.

2. Keith Kinkaid

Since November 22nd, 41 goaltenders have spent at least 600 minutes between the pipes. Kinkaid ranks dead last in both save percentage (.881) and goals saved above average (-12.08). He has played horribly. Given the Devils' defensive struggles, particularly over the last few weeks, it's probably safe to say Kinkaid won't get a ton of help in this one. He's going to face more than his share of shots. If he doesn't step up in a big way, the Devils won't have much of a chance.

3. Blake Coleman's hot streak

I'm beating a dead horse here but the guy has been lights out since Taylor Hall went down. Over the last 10 games, he leads the Devils in goals (5), chances (26), shots (29), and shot attempts (48) at 5v5. He is a threat every single night and it hasn't taken away from his defensive performance. Now if only the coaching staff rewarded him with some power play time...

4. Stingy penalty kills

This game features two strong penalty killing side. The Devils rank 2nd in terms of shot suppression and tied for 4th in goals against. They really don't give up much.

While the Blue Jackets aren't quite as good, their numbers are still good. They rank 4th in shot attempts against/60 and have only conceded two more times than the Devils, although they don't take penalties nearly as often.

Nevertheless, we probably shouldn't expect a ton of power play damage tonight – especially with both teams sitting bottom-10 in goals/60 while up a man.

5. Marcus Johansson's production

Johansson was playing *really* well prior to going down with an injury in mid-to-late December. He has not picked up where he left off. It's only been a couple games, of course, but he owns a 40.6 Corsi For% at 5v5 and has recorded just two shots on goal (one high-danger chance) in ~35 minutes across all situations. Whether the Devils plan to re-sign Johansson or trade him to a contender at the deadline, it'd be nice to see him pick it up.

Here are the projected lineups.

New Jersey Devils

Marcus Johansson - Nico Hischier - Kyle Palmieri
Miles Wood - Travis Zajac - Blake Coleman
Brett Seney - Pavel Zacha - Jesper Bratt
Brian Boyle - Kevin Rooney - Drew Stafford

Andy Greene - Damon Severson
Will Butcher - Sami Vatanen
Mirco Mueller - Ben Lovejoy

Keith Kinkaid

Columbus (via DailyFaceoff.com)

Artemi Panarin - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Cam Atkinson
Anthony Duclair - Alexander Wennberg - Kevin Stenlund
Nick Foligno - Boone Jenner - Josh Anderson
Oliver Bjorkstrand - Lukas Sedlak - Riley Nash

Ryan Murray - Seth Jones
Zach Werenski - Markus Nutivaara
David Savard - Scott Harrington

Joonas Korpisalo

Puck drop is just after 7:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on MSG+2 and FS-O.

Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com and Corsica.Hockey

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