Monday, the New Jersey Devils look to get back on track as they face the Columbus Blue Jackets at home.
The Devils are currently 16-8-1 after losing to the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday night, 5-3. The Blue Jackets are currently 11-9-5, they lost in a shootout to the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Friday.
Match Overview
The Blue Jackets have been a middle of the road team this year, which has them towards the bottom of the standings in a stacked Eastern Conference. A lot of their points have been built up through overtime or shootout games. Columbus has gone to extra time in 10 games this season, which is tied for the third most among any team. The Blue Jackets are 5-5 in overtime/shootout.
The Devils are further down the leaderboard tied for 11th in games to go to an extra session, but they have been great once getting there. New Jersey is 4-1 in overtime and 2-0 in the shootout. Don’t be surprised if this game is close down the stretch.
Lines and Pairings
Devils
Forwards
Meier-Hischier-Bratt
Gritsyuk-Mercer-Palat
Cotter-Glass-Brown
Lammikko-Glendening-Noesen
Defense
Hughes-Nemec
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Dillon-White
Goalies
Allen
Markstrom
Blue Jackets
Forwards
Voronkov-Fantilli-Johnson
Pinelli-Monahan-Sillinger
Wood-Coyle-Lundestrom
Aston Reese-Gaunce-Chinakov
Defense
Werenski-Provorov
Mateychuk-Severson
Smith-Fabbro
Goalies
Greaves
Merzlikins
Keys to the Game
Former Devils
Just last week, the Blue Jackets signed Brendan Smith to an NHL contract. Projections suggest he will play against his former team Monday night. Smith was on a PTO prior to signing with Columbus for the season, which comes after spending a year as a Dallas Star.
Smith joins Miles Wood and Damon Severson as former Devils to appear for the Blue Jackets this season. The three were all teammates on New Jersey in 2022-23.
Tight Metro
The Metropolitan Division has never been tighter. All eight teams are about 25 games into the season. Only six points separate the first-place Devils and the last-place Blue Jackets. That is the smallest gap between first and last of any of the four divisions.
Thus far, the Devils have done a good job keeping pace in what will most likely be a tight race to the finish. Against in-division opponents the team is 3-3-1, and that comes after losing twice to the Flyers in the past week.
Where to Watch
Puck drop for Monday’s game is set for 7:00 pm ET and can be found on MSG SportsNet.