The two worst teams in the Metropolitan Division will go to battle on Friday evening as the New Jersey Devils visit the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7 PM EST. New Jersey is looking to end a two-game losing skid here, falling to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night by a score of 3-2. Columbus on the other hand is coming off an impressive win over a very good Vancouver Canucks team, 4-3 in a shootout. Can they build off that victory? We shall see. Below, find the Devils vs Blue Jackets picks.
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The Devils are expected to win this one with -160 moneyline odds. The Jackets come back at +142. The total is set at 6.5 goals. When it comes to recent meetings, it’s been all New Jersey. They’ve won two in a row and five of the last six matchups with Columbus.
New Jersey was a playoff team last season but in 2023-24, it doesn’t look like that will be the case again. Well, at least not at the moment. While the Devils do sit above .500 with a 22-17-3 record, the Metropolitan is full of quality teams. That means New Jersey is in seventh place but only one point separates them and fourth place Pittsburgh. Not all is lost yet. It doesn’t exactly help that arguably their best player, Jack Hughes, is currently sidelined with an injury. He hasn’t suited up since January 5th and there’s no timeline for return in sight. That hurts considering he’s scored 15 and assisted 30 in just 32 games. Hughes is a massive part of this squad.
Offensively, the Devils are staying afloat. They’re seventh in goals scored with 3.43 per night while also ranking top five in several other major categories. Their biggest issues come on the opposite end of the ice. New Jersey is 28th in most goals allowed, letting in 3.48 per contest. Sure Hughes has missed time, but defensively, he isn’t responsible for his team’s poor play. NJ’s best player thus far has been Jesper Bratt, who leads the way with 46 points (16 goals, 30 assists). The likes of Tyler Toffoli, Luke Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Erik Haula are all consistent producers, too.
The last two games haven’t been great offensively though, only scoring twice during that span. First, it was a 3-0 loss to the Boston Bruins before dropping another to the Habs. The Devils went into the third period down 2-0 and did get a pair back to tie it, but Cole Caufield ultimately won it for Montreal. New Jersey owns a 13-7-1 record on the road.
This is a question Columbus fans have been asking for a very long time. The Blue Jackets are extremely poor and will likely finish in last place when the regular season does finish. They sit at 14-21-9 record, which is also second-last in the Eastern Conference as a whole. There is really no one living up to expectations on this roster. Columbus went out and signed Johnny Gaudreau in the summer of 2022 to hopefully help them get into contention, but he’s a major disappointment. The former Calgary Flames standout has seven goals and 21 assists in 44 games. His 28 points are a team-best.
In fact, Kirill Marchenko’s 14 goals are the highest on the team, which just goes to show how dismal their offense truly is. The Jackets rank 20th in goals scored, 22nd in shots on goal, 25th in power play percentage, and 26th in faceoff percentage. Defensively, Columbus is even worse. The Blue Jackets sit 30th in goals allowed and 30th in shots on goal allowed. This group is abysmal when it comes to actually stopping opponents from finding the back of their net.
On a more positive note, Columbus is fresh off a win that could instill some confidence. The Jackets took down the high-flying Canucks, who are at the top of the Western Conference. Dmitri Voronkov was the start of the show in this one, scoring twice, including the equalizer in the third period to force OT and ultimately a shootout. Gaudreau tallied a pair of assists while Yegor Chinakhov scored as well. Friday’s matchup is the final contest of a three-game homestand for Columbus, who will hit the road for a West Coast road trip.
Although I do believe New Jersey should win this one, the bet I like here is the over. The last two scorelines between New Jersey and Columbus? 4-3 and 6-3.
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