Game Preview: Blue Jackets Hit Home Ice For Final Time This Month; Face Devils Friday Night

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

22-17-3 (47 pts; .560%) ROSTER SCHEDULE

7:00 P.M. – FRIDAY, JANUARY 19 NATIONWIDE ARENA  COLUMBUS, OH

TELEVISION: Bally Sports Ohio ESPN+ Power Play (Out of Market)

After three days off, the Columbus Blue Jackets are back at it Friday night when they face Jack Hughes and the New Jersey Devils.

The game will mark the Blue Jackets final time on home ice until February 10th, a span of over three weeks. The club begins a five-game road trip Tuesday in Edmonton, a trip that ends in St. Louis on January 30th and leads directly into the All-Star break. 

For the Blue Jackets, it's the chance to win consecutive games for the first time since Black Friday. That's a stretch of 23 games without back-to-back victories, a streak Columbus would certainly like to end. 

Here's what else to know when the Blue Jackets dance with the Devils at Nationwide Arena:

TALKING POINTS: NJ

• Few teams have been as disappointing as the Devils this season. They came into the season with aspirations of hoisting the Stanley Cup and were among the betting favorites to do so — but find themselves four points out of a playoff spot at the midpoint of the season. They won five of six as 2023 turned into 2024 and appeared to be getting over the hump, but have since lost four of their last five and have a daunting schedule ahead following Friday's game: Dallas, Vegas, Carolina, Tampa Bay, and Colorado. Suffice it to say, the Devils should view this game as an absolute must. 
   
• Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes have kept New Jersey afloat, but several key players have struggled: Timo Meier has 16 points in 29 games and a plus/minus of -18, Nico Hischier has 23 points in 31 games after an 80-point season last year, and the goaltending duo of Akira Schmid and Vitek Vanecek have a combined goals against average of 3.29 and neither have a save percentage anywhere close to .900. Those are not numbers that will get a team into the postseason. 

TALKING POINTS: CBJ

• Boone Jenner is expected to return to the lineup Friday, and head coach Pascal Vincent said Wednesday that he'll remain at center and that Adam Fantilli will move to the wing to make room. The Blue Jackets' rookie sensation has made tremendous strides in the middle over the last number of weeks, so the decision to move him back to the wing is a puzzling one. Jenner and Fantilli will likely play together alongside Jack Roslovic, and that'll be a line worth watching.
   
• A strength to start the season, the Columbus penalty kill took a nosedive when Jenner fractured his jaw last month and is now 18th in the league. They've allowed five power play goals in 13 attempts over the last four games. Since December 1st, the Blue Jackets kill rate sits at a putrid 68.3%. Can't win games like that, so let's hope Jenner's return also means the return of a competent penalty kill.

GAMEDAY NEWS & NOTES (Updated 3:45 p.m.)

• It's a two-man show between the pipes for the Blue Jackets, at least for now. Goaltender Spencer Martin was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, ending his brief tenure in Columbus.
   
• The Blue Jackets officially activated Boone Jenner from injured reserve in advance of the game and he will play Friday night.
   
• Odds haven't been adjusted much throughout the day, but there was a slight bump at Tipico Sportsbook for the Blue Jackets: they sit at +135 as of Friday afternoon as opposed to +140 to start the day. MoneyPuck has not touched the odds of a Blue Jackets victory — that still sits at 39%. 
   
• Here are the full projected lineups: