The New Jersey Devils (1-1) hit the final stop on their short beginning-of-the-season road trip. They will take on the Columbus Blue Jackets (1-1-0) in an early Metropolitan Division showdown. Both teams are coming off big victories and will look to maintain their winning ways.
Matchup Overview
The Devils have had mixed results to begin the season. They begin into Raleigh, North Carolina and suffered their 11th-straight loss inside that building. While the Devils mounted several comebacks, the Hurricanes were able to put the game away late. Then, it’s only one game, but the Devils turned around and had a massive bounce-back victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In that game on Saturday, the Devils won 5-3 and on the backs of a terrific first period. They scored three goals and despite the Lightning finding their way back into the game, the Devils put their foot on the gas and closed it out. Five different Devils had multi-point games against the Lightning. Connor Brown and Arseny Gritsyuk had their first points being in a Devils uniform.
Worth noting, the Devils officially placed forward Arsenii Gritsyuk on injured reserve with a fracture. They recalled Brian Halonen (AHL) from Utica. Halonen scored a goal in Utica’s second game of the season on Saturday.
The Blue Jackets are coming off a disappointing first game loss against the Nashville Predators. It was a tough pill to swallow, as they had a 58.25 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and controlled the expected goals share as well, despite the loss. They were the better team, but couldn’t grab the two points. However, following that game, a goal scoring barrage against the Minnesota Wild resulted in a 7-4 victory on the back of Kirill Marchenko’s hat trick.
Projected Lineups
New Jersey Devils
Check our social media pages closer to puck drop for the projected Devils lineup.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Forwards
Voronkov-Monahan-Marchenko
Jenner-Fantilli-Sillinger
Johnson-Coyle-Olivier
Aston-Reese-Lundestrom-Wood
Defense
Werenski-Fabbro
Provorov-Severson
Mateychuk-Gudbranson
Goalies
Merzlikins
Greaves
What to Watch For
Luke Hughes Starting Hot
What a start to the year for the newly-extended Luke Hughes. Hughes leads the Devils in points with four, all of which have been assists. Alongside his partner Brett Pesce, Hughes is second on the Devils in total ice time so far. He’s a workhorse and the Devils are leaning on him. As they should.
But it goes beyond the production. Among Devils defenseman, Hughes leads in expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) with 57.49. Also, his expected goals against is the second fewest among the group as well. He’s been able to be an effective player at both ends of the ice and it’s great to see.
Attacking the High Danger Areas of the Ice
The sample sizes are small, as each team has played just two games to start the year. However, there are things that you can look for and point out as a weakness. For the Blue Jackets, they are a team you can generate high quality chances against.
Through the two games, they are getting out-attempted in the high danger areas 21-16 and outshot 13-8. They haven’t allowed a goal from the area yet during five-on-five play, but they’ve done a poor job of coverage right by the goal crease.
When you look at the heat maps on Hockey Viz, you can see the Blue Jackets keep their opponents to the perimeter. However, opponents are able to crash down low and get to the inner slot. The Devils, as a team, have been opportunistic with four goals from the high-danger areas off 12 shots on goal.
How to Watch
Puck drop for the game is at 7:00 pm ET and can be found on MSG.