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| NEW JERSEY DEVILS | ||
49-21-8 (106 points; .679%)
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7:00 P.M. – THURSDAY, APRIL 6 PRUDENTIAL CENTER NEWARK, NJ |
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TELEVISION: Bally Sports Ohio ESPN+ (Out of Market) |
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| PROJECTIONS: | ||
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| ODDS OF CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK: 22% | ||
| ODDS OF CBJ WIN PER THE 538: 27% | ||
| CAESAR'S SPORTSBOOK: NJD - | ||
The disappointing season for the Columbus Blue Jackets enters its final games Thursday when the club heads to New Jersey for a battle against the division-rival Devils.
Here's what to know when the Blue Jackets and Devils drop the puck at the Prudential Center:
| CBJ | SEASON STATS | NJD |
|---|---|---|
| 2.65 | GOALS FOR | 3.45 |
| 3.97 | GOALS AGAINST | 2.73 |
| -1.32 | GOAL DIFFERENTIAL | +0.72 |
| 18.7% | POWER PLAY | 21.5% |
| 76.1% | PENALTY KILL | 82.4% |
| 29.4 | SHOTS FOR | 34.5 |
| 35.5 | SHOTS AGAINST | 28.1 |
| 45.0% | 5V5 CF% | 53.9% |
| 48.6% | FACE-OFF % | 51.5% |
| DEVILS: LAST THREE GAMES | ||
| SAT, 4/1 | @ Blackhawks | W, 6-3 |
| SUN, 4/2 | @ Jets | L, 6-1 |
| TUE, 4/4 | vs. Penguins | W, 5-1 |
| DEVILS: TEAM LEADERS | ||
| GOALS | Jack Hughes | 40 |
| ASSISTS | Dougie Hamilton | 52 |
| POINTS | Jack Hughes | 91 |
TALKING POINTS: DEVILS
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New Jersey has both a lot to play for and nothing at all. The Devils currently sit at 106 points; that's three behind the Carolina Hurricanes (who have a game in hand) and three ahead of the third-place New York Rangers. It would seem like winning the Metro is nearly out of the question for the Jack Hughes and company, but two points over Columbus would at least keep things interesting. Even without the division, keeping home ice advantage over the Rangers is a top priority. In other words, the Devils still have plenty to play for — even with a spot in the postseason clinched long ago.
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Jack Hughes, the first overall pick in the 2019 draft, is a large part of New Jersey's turnaround. The 21-year-old leads the team in goals (40) and points (91) and is just one off Dougie Hamilton's team-leading 52 assists. Nearly a third (29) of those points have come on the power play. Huh, go figure: top picks can change a franchise.
- Life has been kinda, sorta easy for lead Jersey tender Vitek Vanecek. The 27-year-old is 31-11-4 with a 2.49 goals against average and save percentage of .909. Not bad, but this helps: None of the five defensive pairings with at least three hours of shared ice time this season have a goals against per 60 higher than 2.32. For comparison: five of the six Blue Jacket pairings are above that, and four of those five are above 3.30. Does good defense breed good goaltending or the other way around? The answer is somewhere in the middle, but the New Jersey defense has been outstanding this season.
TALKING POINTS: CBJ
PROJECTED CBJ LINES
Updated: 7:05 a.m. // Subject to Change
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Johnny Gaudreau | 38 | Boone Jenner | 86 | Kirill Marchenko |
| 19 | Liam Foudy | 96 | Jack Roslovic | 91 | Kent Johnson |
| 50 | Eric Robinson | 7 | Sean Kuraly | 52 | Emil Bemstrom |
| 46 | Joona Luoto | 21 | Josh Dunne | 41 | Hunter McKown |
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Gavin Bayreuther | 2 | Andrew Peeke |
| 75 | Tim Berni | 27 | Adam Boqvist |
| 47 | Marcus Bjork | 6 | Billy Sweezey |
| Starting Goalie | Back-Up | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | Michael Hutchinson | 32 | Jon Gillies |
