Devils at Blue Jackets
Taylor Hall looks to extend his point streak to 13 games when the New Jersey Devils visit the slumping Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday in a matchup of teams battling for playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. Hall has collected eight goals and 10 assists during his 12-game run that is tied for the longest in the league this season (Boston's David Pastrnak, Nov. 22-Dec. 18).
Hall will need some help if the Devils are to begin moving forward again as they have lost six of their last nine and two straight after a 3-2 setback against Calgary on Thursday. “For some reason, the last 10 to 20 games, we’re not finding ways to get leads and keep leads,” Hall told reporters. “It’s not like we are playing poorly. It’s really close for us. We have to find a way to get over that hump.” Columbus' losing streak reached five games (0-4-1) on Friday as it suffered a 4-2 defeat at Washington and fell out of a wild-card spot despite holding a 37-17 advantage in shots. Sergei Bobrovsky was one of the front-runners for the Vezina Trophy earlier this season but has allowed 24 goals while going 1-6-1 in his last eight appearances.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG Plus (New Jersey), FS Ohio (Columbus)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (27-18-8): Hall has accumulated 20 goals and 54 points, which is 23 more than anyone else on the team - with rookies Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier tied for second. Bratt and rookie defenseman Will Butcher (29 points) have not landed on the scoresheet over the last four games while Hischier was been held without a point in three straight contests and has notched just a goal and two assists in his last nine. Keith Kinkaid (10-6-2, 3.12 goals-against average, .893 save percentage) is expected to make his sixth consecutive start as Cory Schneider continues to recover from a groin injury.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (27-23-4): Leading scorer Artemi Panarin scored his 14th goal in Friday’s loss and has recorded nine of his 43 points over the last nine games. Defenseman Seth Jones is second on the team with 34 points after notching an assist against Washington, but All-Star blue-liner Zach Werenski was kept off the scoresheet for the fifth straight game. Pierre-Luc Dubois registered his first goal and second point in 10 games on Friday while Oliver Bjorkstrand has recorded only one of his 27 points in the last 13 contests.
OVERTIME
1. Columbus has allowed nine power-play goals in its last seven games and is last in the NHL with the man advantage.
2. New Jersey C Pavel Zacha, a former first-round draft pick, has recorded a goal and four assists in his last four contests.
3. The Metropolitan Division rivals split a pair of matchups last month, with the road team winning each time, and the Blue Jackets have captured four of the last five meetings.