Blue Jackets game #3 preview, a Devil of a home opener tonight at Nationwide

For the first time in almost six months, the Columbus Blue Jackets will play a regular season game at Nationwide Arena. Tonight, they host Metropolitan Division a rival: the New Jersey Devils.

It's been 179 games since the final horn sounded on last year's CBJ team. In what became a meaningless game after the Montreal Canadiens locked up the final playoff spot, the Jackets smacked the New York Islanders by a final of 6-1 in their regular season finale.

Tonight, they will take the ice against yet another strong team to start their new season. Only this time, they will have the power of the 5th Line behind them. It should be a fun one.

The Jackets will enter tonight with a 1-1-0 record, having beaten the Minnesota Wild by a 7-4 margin on Friday night. They should come out firing on all cylinders.

The opponent:

Like the Jackets, the Devils are one of the league's premier young offensive teams. They also come in with a 1-1-0 record; and also like the Jackets, have found the net 8 times through their first 2 games.

Their season started with a 6-3 loss against the Hurricanes in Raleigh, then a 5-3 win against the Lightning in Tampa Bay. They have yet to play a home game, so this is a team that is quickly having to learn how to gel on the road.

They are led up front by two of the best young centers in the game: Jack Hughes and their captain, Nico Hischier. A lot of this team's game is built around these guys, so it will be a chance for the Jackets to showcase their newfound center depth in front of the home crowd.

Through their first two games however, the Devils are led in scoring by defenseman Luke Hughes (Jack's younger brother). He has 4 points (all assists). Sitting just behind him is winger Jesper Bratt with 3 points (2g, 1a).

In goal, expect to see Jacob Markstrom, who has started both of their first two games already this season. He stopped 41 of 49 shots in those contests (.837%), so he'll be looking to better dial in his game if he's in net tonight.

Updated: Jake Allen appears to be making his first start of the season for the Devils.

Last year, the Devils finished third in the Metro with a record of 42-33-7 (91 points). They are honestly a much better team than that record would have indicated, however.

They entered the playoffs without some of their best players, who were sitting on IR for quite a bit of the last half of the season. This should be a 100 point team this year if healthy, so it's important for the Blue Jackets to find their game early and stay on top of it tonight.

Three Devils to watch: Jack Hughes, Luke Hughes, Jesper Bratt

The Devils have two of the three Hughes brothers, and they are a real treat to watch. Both ooze skill every time they are on the ice, and as brothers they obviously have plenty of chemistry. They are especially lethal on the power-play, where they get a little extra time and space.

Add Jesper Bratt into the mix, and you get a potent offense that can strike from a variety of places. The Devils have surrounded these guys with big, heavy support pieces, that allow them to do the things they do best: generate offense.

Unfortunately, it's up to the Jackets to try to contain them tonight. Staying out of the box is going to be crucial against this team.

How about the good guys?

The Jackets got an early monkey off their backs with a big win on Thursday. They did so with an impressive offensive output, scoring 7 goals on a Minnesota Wild team that shut out their first opponent.

Kirill Marchenko led the way with a hat trick, scoring his first 3 goals of the season. Zach Werenski also posted 3 points (1g, 2a), as did Boone Jenner (1g, 2a).

Those three join Dmitri Voronkov for a share of the team's scoring lead, as the big Russian has points in each of the first two games of the season - including 2 assists on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, Elvis Merzlikins turned in a dazzling performance in goal, making 48 saves on 52 shots. Though, it appears the team is going to stick to its early plan of alternating starts between him and Jet Greaves, with the younger goaltender taking the home crease this morning:

Unfortunately, it looks like the team will be without Erik Gudbranson, who suffered an upper-body injury on Saturday night. Aside from Jake Christiansen likely entering the lineup, there are no other changes.

Three Blue Jackets to watch: Kirill Marchenko, Damon Severson, Kent Johnson

Through the first two games of the season, Marchenko has been dynamic. He has 12 shots on goal, and already netted the team's first hat-trick of the year. Look for him to continue to play a hungry, dominant two-way game.

On the back-end, Damon Severson has probably played the best two games of his Blue Jackets career to start this campaign. He's averaged around 19:00 per game, with one assist and a +4 rating. He seems to have taken Evason's advice about playing simple, and it is working so far.

Lastly, where has Kent Johnson been to start this season? He has yet to register a point, and played just over 11 minutes on Saturday night. It's time for the young playmaker to show up and stand out. What better time than opening night at Nationwide?

Three keys to success:

1. Stay out of the box. The Jackets have given up 13 power-plays through their first 2 games. They've been scored on 5 times. Particularly against a free-wheeling team like New Jersey, they have to avoid going on the penalty kill as much as possible tonight.

2. Control your emotions. This ties in with point #1. Don't take any dumb penalties. But also, feed off of the crowd without trying to do too much. Settle into the game and play CBJ hockey.

3. Avoid turnovers. The Devils can strike quickly, so the Jackets have to be cautious and not try to force plays with the puck.

The party gets started at 3:30 this afternoon with a Plaza Party. You can join the team for their traditional blue carpet event. We also recommend joining the March of the Union Army with the Union Blue Soldiers, which gets started at R Bar at 6:00.

If you're out of the area, you can watch the game via Fan Duel Sports Network or via ESPN+. Puck drop is at 7:00.