Game #55 preview, Blue Jackets need to keep the Devils down

The Blue Jackets are back in action tonight in New Jersey, where they will take on a struggling Devils team. In their penultimate game before the Olympic break, it's another opportunity to grit out two points against a divisional opponent.

The Jackets got a much-needed two days off after winning both halves of a back-to-back on the road. They beat the Blackhawks 4-2 in Chicago on Friday, then the Blues 5-3 in St Louis on Saturday.

They're red hot, with 5 wins in a row and 9 in their last 10 games. Since hiring Rick Bowness, everything seems to have fallen into place for this team. On the other side of the spectrum are the New Jersey Devils, who are still in the race; but have struggled of late.

The Opponent

The Devils enter tonight's game just three points behind the Blue Jackets in the standings-but with five teams in between. They are 28-25-2 (58 points) on the season, but went just 7-8-0 in January.

Oddly enough, they are struggling to win games because they are struggling to score, sitting 29th in the league in goals for. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me-there is a lot of talent in New Jersey.

Of course, part of that is due to superstar Jack Hughes missing almost 20 games because of a freak off-ice injury. But, still, there is enough here for them to produce.

They are led in scoring by their captain, Nico Hischier, who has 18 goals and 41 points in 55 games. Just behind him is Jesper Bratt (13-27-40), then it's Hughes (12-24-36).

One of the biggest problems they have is, outside of those three players, nobody is really scoring consistently. And, they aren't a team that is going to win low event games. That's just not how they're built.

With the talent the Devils have accrued, they have to be productive. They haven't been so far this year, and all of that talent comes at a cost: they are pressed so hard up against the cap, that they can't make any meaningful tweaks to their roster.

Maybe more concerning for them is their goaltending situation. They signed Jacob Markstrom to a two-year contract extension over the summer, paying him $6m per year after this season.

But, right now, he's not even playing like a serviceable backup. He's 15-12-1 on the season with a .889% save percentage and 3.24 goals against average.

Luckily for them, the guy signed to be his backup has stemmed the tides a little bit. Jake Allen has much better numbers (.907%, 2.68GAA), but somehow a worse record (12-13-1).

We'll update the article once their lineup and starter is announced. They could be without some important pieces tonight.

Update: no Jack Hughes tonight. Still awaiting word on their starting goaltender.

The Good Guys

The Jackets may also be without a very important piece tonight, as Kirill Marchenko is sick. The last update was that he may not even be making the trip with the team, in hopes of keeping the illness from spreading.

Dante Fabbro also seems close to a return, so it's possible that we could see a couple of changes to the lineup tonight. And, with both goaltenders playing pretty well, we'll have to wait until later in the day to see who will get the start.

We will update all of this as it's released.

Update: Kirill Marchenko is out, with Danton Heinen coming back into the lineup. Isac Lundestrom will move to the top line. Dante Fabbro is a game-time decision, and Elvis Merzlikins will start in goal.

The Jackets have won 5 games in a row, and 9 of their last 10. With both the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders losing last night, suddenly, the playoff mountain is looking a little less steep.

A win tonight would leave them just two points out of third place in the Metropolitan Division, with a game in hand. A loss, however, would bring the Devils to within one point of the Jackets, and tighten the whole thing up.

This is their most important game of the season so far. They have to come out hard and at the top of their game tonight, if they want to continue to make us believe.

Three Keys to Success

1. Get some saves. Regardless who is on the ice for the other team, it's vital that the Blue Jackets get some saves. Especially early on. As we saw in the last matchup, the Devils can score at will when they start buzzing around and gaining momentum, so your goaltender has to be on his game.

2. Bully them. The Jackets are 1-2-0 in the season series with the Devils. The one game they won was the penalty-filled affair back on December 1st. Simply put, the Devils don't have an answer for that kind of game against the Blue Jackets. They should throw their weight around and try to win the physical game.

3. More than one line of offense? In their last two games, the Jackets have gotten enough offense to win. But on each night, it feels like they have only had one line going offensively. They will need more to win tonight.

This is their most important, and most difficult matchup out of the last 10 days or so. The main key tonight is just finding a way to get two points. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 Eastern time from New Jersey. Let's go Jackets!