New Jersey @ Columbus preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 21, 2019 ) New Jersey 1, Columbus 5

The Columbus Blue Jackets have pushed their way into playoff position in the Eastern Conference and look to continue moving up when they host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. The Blue Jackets have earned at least a point in 17 of their last 19 games (13-2-4) with last season’s leading goal scorer Cam Atkinson scoring once and setting up another in Thursday’s 3-2 victory over Carolina after missing almost a month with an ankle injury.

“I think we’re confident, we’re quietly confident,” Columbus captain Nick Foligno told reporters after scoring for the first time in 23 games Thursday. “We put together a good string of games, and tonight was probably our ugliest one in a while, but there’s still things to take away from it.” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella agreed that it wasn’t one of his team’s best performances, but said he won’t apologize for his 200th victory with the club, and Columbus will try to smooth out the rough edges to beat New Jersey for the ninth straight time after a 5-1 victory at home Dec. 21. The Devils had put together a decent stretch of their own with points in eight of 10 games (6-2-2) before giving up 12 goals while losing their last two after a 5-2 setback against Washington on Thursday. “You can’t dip your toe in. I think for probably about a period and a half we played a little timid,” New Jersey center Travis Zajac told reporters after Thursday’s setback. “Because of that, I don’t think you’re assertive on the ice, your awareness isn’t there, and we gave up a lot of chances early."

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: MSG Plus, FS Ohio

ABOUT THE DEVILS (17-23-7): Center Nico Hischier (29 points), who is headed to the All-Star Game next week, recorded an assist Thursday and has a chance to pass injured Kyle Palmieri (foot) as he sits two points behind the right wing for the team lead. Rookie left wing Nikita Gusev may end up on top of the scoring race soon as the 27-year-old Russian registered 14 of his 28 points in his past 15 contests. Veteran goalie Cory Schneider (0-5-1) stopped 33-of-37 shots in relief since being recalled and could get his first NHL start since Nov. 8, but Louis Domingue (lower body) and Mackenzie Blackwood (upper body) reportedly practiced Friday.

ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (24-16-8): Columbus has shown its depth with three straight victories despite getting one point combined from the top three scorers as Pierre-Luc Dubois (34 points) had a goal while Gustav Nyquist (31) and defenseman Zach Werenski (28) were blanked. Elvis Merzlikins continues to shine in net since taking over for injured Joonas Korpisalo, going 7-2-0 with a .949 save percentage in the last nine games after going 0-4-4 in his first 10 NHL appearances. Forwards Emil Bemstrom and Alexander Wennberg have each recorded two goals and an assist during three-game point streaks.

OVERTIME

1. New Jersey F Blake Coleman leads the team with 19 goals, getting four in the last two games and seven in the past seven.

2. Columbus D Vladislav Gavrikov had a minus-6 rating the first 26 games this season and is a plus-14 in the past 21 contests.

3. Devils D Will Butcher recorded five of 13 assists this season in his last four games.

PREDICTION: Blue Jackets 4, Devils 3