Game Preview: Blue Jackets Dance With The Devils On Valentine's Day

NEW JERSEY DEVILS
34-13-5 (73 points; .702%) ROSTER / SCHEDULE
7:00 P.M. – TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14 NATIONWIDE ARENA  COLUMBUS, OH
TELEVISION: Bally Sports Ohio ESPN+ (Out of Market)
PROJECTIONS:
ODDS OF CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK: 33%
ODDS OF CBJ WIN PER THE 538: 42%
CAESAR'S SPORTSBOOK: NJ -210

Coming off one of their best wins of the season, the Columbus Blue Jackets return home to Nationwide Arena for a Valentine's Day matchup against the New Jersey Devils.

That win was a 4-3 victory on Hockey Night in Canada against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Blue Jackets fell behind 2-0 in the first period, but showed a resiliency not often seen as of late en route to their 12th regulation win of the season.

Tuesday's game will mark the Devils only trip of the year to face the Blue Jackets in Columbus. New Jersey won the first battle in November by a wide margin, and the third and final game of their season series isn't until April.

Here's what to know when the Devils and Blue Jackets exchange pleasantries on the day of love:

TALKING POINTS: DEVILS

• After several down seasons, the Devils were expected to be competitive this year. But the third best record in the league with just two months left? Few, if any, saw that coming. New Jersey has been impressive from day one and are one of just two teams (the Boston Bruins being the other) who are top six in the league in both goals per game and goals against per game. 
   
• Dougie Hamilton may be the best New Jersey blue liner, but what Ryan Graves and John Marino are doing as a defensive tandem is outstanding. In over seven hours on the ice (429.8 minutes), they've allowed six goals. Six. That's an average of 0.84 goals per 60. To put that in perspective, the second-ranked combo in the league by goals per 60 belongs to Charlie Mcavoy and Matt Grzlecyk of the Boston Bruins, who have allowed more goals (7) in almost exactly one hour less time on the ice (371.0) for an average of 1.13. No other eligible duo is under 1.27. If the NHL gave out an award for best blue line pairing, the race would be over. 
   
• Connor McDavid is a favorite for the Hart Trophy, but Devils forward Jack Hughes deserves consideration as well. The dangerous 21-year-old has a stat line of 35-32-67 in an even 50 games played. One hundred points is certainly in the ballpark, and Hughes improvements this season are noticeable in many ways. Watch out when he's on the ice. 

TALKING POINTS: CBJ

• Playing in front of the home crowd? Columbus can take it or leave it as of late. The Blue Jackets are seeking just their third win in front of the home crowd of the 2023 calendar year. They're 2-5-1 at Nationwide Arena since January 1st, but have three road victories in their last seven games. Can the Blue Jackets find a winning way at home?
   
• Kirill Marchenko deserves a ton of respect and is slowly starting to get it. He ranks 5th in the NHL in goals per 60 minutes, barely trailing Jack Hughes and Connor McDavid and not too far off from the top two of David Pastrnak and Tage Thompson. Marchenko — particularly on the power play (six of his 14 goals through 30 games) — is becoming a player that will require other teams to plan accordingly. Fresh off a multi-point performance in Saturday's win, what does Marchenko have in store? 

PROJECTED CBJ LINES
Updated: 7:05 a.m. // Subject to Change