The Blue Jackets hope to expel a four game losing skid tonight. They take on the Devils in New Jersey in a Metropolitan Division matchup.
November was a forgettable month for the 5th Line, as the Jackets posted a dismal 5-5-5 record in 15 games played. They picked up 15 points, but only won two games in regulation and have fallen behind the torrid pace set in the Eastern Conference.
Suffice to say, playing at an 82 point pace is not what we hoped for out of this team this season. They need to turn this ship around, and it starts with a new month.
Playing in New Jersey is not an easy place to start a month anew. Though they are missing their best player, this is still a lethal Devils team that is currently just one point out of first place in the Metro Division.
The Opponent
The Devils have established themselves as an Eastern Conference powerhouse over the last few seasons. Led by their two star first overall picks, this is a team that has a lot of buzz surrounding them. They have 33 points already this season (16-8-1).
They are led in scoring by Jesper Bratt, who has 24 points in 21 games. He's joined by captain Nico Hischier (23), and veteran Timo Meier (21). Injured Jack Hughes (20) and Dawson Mercer (20) have also cleared the 20 point plateau.
Currently, they are missing six regulars from their lineup. Aside from Hughes, notables include veteran scoring winger Evgeni Dadonov, and shutdown defenseman Brett Pesce.
New Jersey sits 12th in the league in goals scored (78) and 14th in goals against (74); and 8th in the league on both the power-play (23.8%) and penalty kill (83.3%).
Where they have struggled is in goal, with starter Jacob Markstrom not living up to his usual standards. Tonight, they will roll out veteran backup Jake Allen, who has a .919% save percentage and 2.27 goals against average in 13 starts this year.
Over his career, Allen is 5-2-1 against the Jackets, with a .916% save percentage and 2.69 GAA.
The Good Guys
For the third consecutive game, Dean Evason will employ the same lineup of skaters:
Dancin' with the Devils 💪 pic.twitter.com/m7YedfWtpL
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) December 1, 2025
The lone change from Friday night's disappointing loss comes in goal, With Elvis Merzlikins set to make his first start since November 24th.
Elvis is 4-5-0 this season, with a .894% save percentage and 3.55GAA. Against the Devils in his career, he's 4-4-0 against New Jersey, posting a .911%, 3.11GAA stat line.
The Jackets will still be without Boone Jenner, Erik Gudbranson, Kirill Marchenko, and Mathieu Olivier. Thought, a couple of these guys look close to returning. We need all of the help we can get.
Three Keys to Success
1. Short memory. The calendar has flipped over to a new month. Forget what happened last month, just go play hockey. Preferably CBJ hockey.
2. 20+60. Can we get a complete 60 minute effort from this team tonight, please? All 20 guys pulling the rope for the entire game would be wonderful (yes, including the backup goalie).
3. Buy some goals. Elephant in the room here: the Jackets are going to need to score 3 or 4 goals to beat this team. It's not impossible, but it's going to take some effort in the offensive zone.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 Eastern from New Jersey. You can catch the action via all of the usual methods, if you're still hoping to rally this team back up the standings. Let's go Jackets.