The New Jersey Devils are back in action against the Columbus Blue Jackets on the road at 7 p.m. ET tonight. After falling 3-7 to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Devils need to regroup and win an important game on the road.
Tonight the Devils go into the game with 78 points in 68 games, Columbus goes into the game with 70 points in 66 games. The Devils winning this game will put an even greater cushion for the Devils, especially since Columbus have games at hand compared to the Devils.
Jesper Bratt will lead the way for the Devils as he has been lights out since Jack Hughes’ season ended due to injury. In the past three games, Bratt has collected nine points.
Another player to keep an eye on for the Devils is newly acquired Cody Glass. Since joining the Devils, Glass has two goals and two assists in four games and a plus/minus of five. He has been a perfect addition to the bottom six and has driven his line to producing more points.
While this is an important game for the Devils and one would suspect Jacob Markstrom should be the starter, the Devils should consider putting Jake Allen between the pipes. Since returning from injury, Markstrom has struggled to come back to his vezina winning style of play. Allen was as good as you can ask for when he was covering for Markstrom and has been the better goalie as of late. With the importance of this game, you want the best players out there that will give you the best chance to win.
The Devils met the Blue Jackets just last week at the Prudential Center. They won 5-3 with goals from Bratt, Luke Hughes, Paul Cotter, Nico Hischier and Timo Meier. Bratt ended the night with three points after adding two assists. Glass and Luke Hughes also had big nights, ending the game with two points each. Despite the win, Markstrom struggled in net, ending the night with a save percentage of .850%.
Will the Devils be able to gain more ground in the playoff race? Find out tonight at 7 p.m. ET when New Jersey takes the ice against Columbus in one final divisional matchup.
