Blue Jackets at Devils
The Columbus Blue Jackets look to get their offense going again when they visit the struggling New Jersey Devils on Sunday for the opener of a home-and-home series. The Blue Jackets, who are second in the powerful Metropolitan Division with 86 points, have scored a total of three goals in their last three games after a 3-2 setback at Ottawa on Saturday.
Brandon Saad reached 20 goals for the third straight season and Sam Gagner added a tally in the loss for Columbus, which will host New Jersey on Tuesday. Sergei Bobrovsky, who was rested Saturday, is expected back in net after shutting out Minnesota on Thursday for his 33rd victory of the season. The Devils have faded out of playoff contention with six consecutive losses (0-4-2) and were outshot 40-17 in Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at Boston. Taylor Hall scored twice as New Jersey rolled to a 5-1 victory over Columbus on Feb. 4 during a four-game point streak (3-0-1), but the Devils have since fallen toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference as they are only two points ahead of last-place Carolina.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Columbus), MSG (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (40-17-6): Leading scorer Cam Atkinson (54 points) recorded an assist Saturday but has tallied in just one of his last nine games and still sits one shy of becoming the seventh player in franchise history to score 30 goals in a season. Alexander Wennberg, who is second on the team with 52 points, has been kept off the scoresheet in three straight games. One of the issues for Columbus' offense has been the power play, which struck for one goal on Saturday but is just 3-for-36 over the last 17 contests.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (25-27-12): Kyle Palmieri notched a goal and an assist Saturday to tie Hall for the team lead with 42 points and has scored nine times in his last 14 contests. Dalton Prout, acquired from Columbus at the trade deadline, made his debut for New Jersey on Saturday while fellow defenseman Andy Greene is expected to miss his second straight contest for personal reasons. Pavel Zacha, a 19-year-old center, could be in the lineup for the first time since Feb. 21 after missing the last four games due to a concussion.
OVERTIME
1. Columbus D Zach Werenski set the franchise rookie record for assists in a season (30) on Saturday and is tied with Rick Nash for the rookie point mark (39).
2. New Jersey C Travis Zajac is third on the team with 39 points and has registered eight in his last seven contests.
3. The Devils are last in the league in shots per game with 27.3 and 29th in goals scored per contest (2.25).