Thursday night, the New Jersey Devils look to stay hot by defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Devils won their most recent outing on Tuesday, taking down the St Louis Blues on the road and improving their win streak to three games.

The Devils are currently 21-10-3, which currently has them second in the Metropolitan Division by points percentage. The Jackets hold a record of 12-15-5, which has them last in the Metro.

Match Overview

The Blue Jackets are currently on a five game winless streak, having lost the past two in regulation. They return home after a failed road trip trying to take down a Devils team they’ve only beaten one time in their past seven tries. They’re going to have to do it somewhat undermanned. 

Forwards Gavin Brindly and Boone Jenner, as well as defenseman Erik Gudbranson, are currently on injured reserve. On top of that Yegor Chinakov, Justin Danforth, and new acquisition Dante Fabbro are all currently listed as day-to-day. Fabbro is going to be a game-time decision.

Lines and Pairings

Devils

Forwards

Palat-Hughes-Bratt

Meier-Hischier-Mercer

Cotter-Haula-Noesen

Tatar-Lazar-Bastian

Defense

Dillon-Hamilton

Hughes-Pesce

Siegenthaler-Kovacevic

Goalies

Markstrom

Allen

Blue Jackets

Forwards

Van Riemsdyk-Monahan-Johnson

Voronkov-Fantilli-Marchenko

Aston Reese-Sillinger-Olivier

Pyyhtia-Kuraly-Labanc

Defense

Werenski-Fabbro

Provorov-Severson

Christiansen-Johnson

Goalies

Merzlikins

Greaves

Keys to the Game

Checking in on Labanc

In the preseason, Kevin Labanc impressed on a professional try-out contract with the Devils, shining with six goals and seven points in just four games. That performance earned him a one year contract with the Blue Jackets. So far, he’s played in 27 games for his new club tallying two goals and 12 total points. Labanc earned his way back into the NHL, so it’s great to see him playing fairly well in his new home.

Getting Depth Back

In the Devils’ recent stretch of games, they had struggled to get scoring from guys lower in their lineup. Stefan Noesen was moved down to the third line to help them out, however, since the switch no forward not on the Hughes or Hischier line has scored a five-on-five goal. The only goal not from a player on one of the two top lines was Noesen himself, who tallied a power play goal in St Louis.

Hopefully, getting back the likes of Bastian and Lazar will help the Devils depth problem out, but if not, general manager Tom Fitzgerald needs to think about making a fairly major addition come deadline time.

Where To Watch

Thursday night’s game is set for a 7:00 pm ET puck drop at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The game can be found on MSG SportsNet.