DEVILS vs. Blue Jackets Game Day Preview
After hitting rock bottom with the team's worst performance in over a year, the Devils return to the Rock to face Columbus on Black Friday looking to jumpstart a season in free fall
The New Jersey Devils (8-8-1) return home for the first leg of a back-to-back holiday weekend with games against Columbus and the Buffalo Sabres. After a lackluster performance in Detroit on Wednesday the team was angry and realized that despite the team’s injuries the effort and execution simply was insufficient. They will look to take their frustration out on the enigmatic Columbus Blue Jackets who dwell in last place in the Metropolitan Division with 14 points in 20 games. Columbus is hoping it turned a corner after it’s 7-3 victory over Chicago on Wednesday.
The Devils’ captain, Nico Hischier returned to practice Monday and practiced again throughout the week, and even traveled to Detroit,
however, it appears that Hischier is still not ready to play as he took line rushes with fourth-liners yesterday at practice. Timo Meier and Tomas Nosek remain out with Meier reportedly nursing a low-grade knee injury and Nosek out for an indefinite period of time after taking a shot to the head from Jacob Trouba.
New Jersey swept Columbus last season in games that were largely non-competitive. They combined to outscore the Blue Jackets 15-2 in two games at the Prudential Center last season. Tonight is the first of three games against Columbus with the second coming after the Christmas break on December 27, and the final matchup in Ohio on January 19.
