PREMIUM
**$20 TUESDAY** >> Rogers' 10* TOTAL DOMINATION! 14-4 Overall L5 Days!
(NHL) Columbus vs. New Jersey,
Total: 5.50 | 104.00 Under
Result: Loss
Total: 5.50 | 104.00 Under
Result: Loss
The set-up: The New Jersey Devils appeared ready to fall off the pace in the Metropolitan Division the past month, as they had sandwiching a pair of four-game skids around winning three straight. However, the 31-20-8 Devils have battled back into contention with four consecutive victories, including three straight wins away from home. Meanwhile, the Columbus Blue Jackets are stumbling with three straight losses to fall to 25-25-5. Devils earned a 3-2 OT win Sunday at Carolina, while the Blue Jackets lost 5-2 at home vs. the Penguins, their eighth defeat in the last 10 games (2-6-2).
Columbus: Columbus is in a dogfight for a postseason berth and currently sits one point out of eighth place in the East. That after cruising to a spot in the playoffs last season when the team finished with a franchise-record 108 points, the Blue Jackets come to Newark with only two wins in their last 10 games. A constant theme is an inability to score despite a plethora of scoring chances. The Blue Jackets had 36 shots or more in eight straight games -- with 49 or more in four of those games -- yet struggle mightily to score and win recently. Captain Nick Foligno will be sidelined for one to two weeks with what's believed to be a knee injury suffered in Sunday's loss. Foligno (just 26 points in 59 games) went through some lean times earlier in the season with a 12-game point drought and a 10-game stretch in which he collected one assist, but had been coming on since then.
New Jersey: Taylor Hall scored the game-winning goal inside the final 30 seconds of overtime Sunday and has collected a point in 18 straight appearances dating to Jan. 2. He leads the team in goals (24) and points (62). Rookie Nico Hischier (39 points is second-best on the team) is on a pretty decent tear of his own, scoring a goal in each of the past four games to earn the NHL First Star of the Week. New Jersey swept two road games this past weekend, riding Eddie Lack's career-high 48 saves to a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday before beating the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in overtime on Sunday. Those wins lifted the team's record in one-goal games to an impressive 16-4-8.
The pick: While the Blue Jackets have seen last year's success fade (see above), the Devils, who finished at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with 70 points last season, have already matched that total in 59 games. New Jersey already has three more victories than last season and currently holds a playoff spot in the East. However, one of Columbus' recent victories was a 6-1 thrashing of the Devils on Feb. 10 at Nationwide Arena. Columbus has had a plethora of scoring chances but has struggled to convert those chances (see above for a reminder). That could very well change here and that means it's a 10* play on the Over.
Columbus: Columbus is in a dogfight for a postseason berth and currently sits one point out of eighth place in the East. That after cruising to a spot in the playoffs last season when the team finished with a franchise-record 108 points, the Blue Jackets come to Newark with only two wins in their last 10 games. A constant theme is an inability to score despite a plethora of scoring chances. The Blue Jackets had 36 shots or more in eight straight games -- with 49 or more in four of those games -- yet struggle mightily to score and win recently. Captain Nick Foligno will be sidelined for one to two weeks with what's believed to be a knee injury suffered in Sunday's loss. Foligno (just 26 points in 59 games) went through some lean times earlier in the season with a 12-game point drought and a 10-game stretch in which he collected one assist, but had been coming on since then.
New Jersey: Taylor Hall scored the game-winning goal inside the final 30 seconds of overtime Sunday and has collected a point in 18 straight appearances dating to Jan. 2. He leads the team in goals (24) and points (62). Rookie Nico Hischier (39 points is second-best on the team) is on a pretty decent tear of his own, scoring a goal in each of the past four games to earn the NHL First Star of the Week. New Jersey swept two road games this past weekend, riding Eddie Lack's career-high 48 saves to a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday before beating the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in overtime on Sunday. Those wins lifted the team's record in one-goal games to an impressive 16-4-8.
The pick: While the Blue Jackets have seen last year's success fade (see above), the Devils, who finished at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with 70 points last season, have already matched that total in 59 games. New Jersey already has three more victories than last season and currently holds a playoff spot in the East. However, one of Columbus' recent victories was a 6-1 thrashing of the Devils on Feb. 10 at Nationwide Arena. Columbus has had a plethora of scoring chances but has struggled to convert those chances (see above for a reminder). That could very well change here and that means it's a 10* play on the Over.
