The New Jersey Devils are looking for a big bounce-back effort against a Columbus Blue Jackets team who has taken a step back.
The New Jersey Devils play the second half of a back to back tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets. They were defeated pretty handily by the Washington Capitals last night. The Devils kept up with them for certain parts of the game, but Washington was just too good at taking advantage of the Devils’ mistakes. There is a reason that they have the most points in the entire Eastern Conference. They are a legit Stanley Cup contender so it is no surprise that they ended up with the win.
The Devils were not able to contain their two best players in Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin. Each guy had multiple points and led their team to victory. The Devils had their chances on Ilya Samsonov at different times in the game. They did end up getting three pucks past him, but it wasn’t enough as the Capitals were able to hang on for the 6-3 victory.
Mackenzie Blackwood allowed five goals but you can’t put the game entirely on him. He made 21 saves on 26 shots before the Devils let him sit the rest of the game. Gilles Senn came in and made his NHL debut in relief. He allowed one goal on three shots but you can’t really judge the kid based on this. He came in cold and the team wasn’t on their game against the best team in the NHL. Blackwood was pulled based on the possibility that he gets the start in this game vs the Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets are not the same team that they’ve been for the past few years. They don’t have Artemi Panarin running the show anymore or stud goalie Sergei Bobrovsky in the net. Their leading scorer now is Gustav Nyquist, who signed as a free agent over the summer. They are getting decent production from guys like Pierre-Luc Dubois and Oliver Bjorkstrand as well. It is a new-look team that might not be as good as it was in recent years, but they have great players and can beat you in different ways.
This is a good chance for the Devils to get back on track. The Blue Jackets are okay, but they are no Capitals team. Guys like Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes should be able to get their touches at even strength in this one. If that is the case, they should be able to create some offense for their team. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if this is a high tempo game but it could very well end up being a good checking low scoring game. It would be really nice to see the Devils get a split of this weekend Metropolitan back-to-back.