PREVIEW: Blue Jackets continue homestand against Devils

BLUE JACKETS (27-25-1) vs. DEVILS (19-29-5)

Columbus turned in a gritty effort, battling all night long against visiting Pittsburgh and limiting the Pens' offense all night long in a showing that matched the team's recent hot streak in terms of effort and intensity.
Of course, CBJ fans know the bad news. The Penguins rallied in the final 10 minutes, tying the score on the power play and then getting the game-winning goal with just over two minutes to go in controversial fashion in a 3-2 Pittsburgh victory.
It was a clear gut-punch loss for the team postgame, with players clearly frustrated by circumstances the tight loss.
GAMEDAY GUIDE: Boqvist out; all-female crew to have ESPN+ call
"It's a tough one," a sullen Oliver Bjorkstrand said after a game in which he notched his 100th career NHL goal. "You'd like to have a different outcome. Yeah, it's tough."
That pain will be hard to push away, but the Blue Jackets have to brush it aside and get back at it if the team's push to get back into playoff contention is to continue. The team had an off day Monday and gets back at it tonight against New Jersey.
Columbus has still won nine of its last 13 and eight of 11 since the All-Star break, and the team turned in a credible stretch capped by the game against Pittsburgh in which all four opponents entered in the top 10 in the NHL in points percentage. The Blue Jackets won two of those and nearly got another point or two against the Pens.
"It was a good hockey game," head coach Brad Larsen said of the effort against the Penguins. "I thought our guys played real hard. I was concerned again about energy. We looked a little rough this morning, but I thought they had a real good effort tonight. It was a tight game."
Things don't get much easier going forward, as nine of the first 13 games for the Blue Jackets in the month of March will be against teams currently in a playoff position. The only way to keep getting wins will be the kinds of efforts the team has turned in during recent weeks.
"I thought there was a lot of good parts of the game," Bjorkstrand said after the Pittsburgh loss. "We can take that and move forward. There's some things we can adjust and be a little better. We just gotta be ready for the next game though."

Know the Foe

Lindy Ruff's Devils were hoping to make a major jump forward this year and perhaps even be in the Stanley Cup Playoffs race after four straight seasons without a postseason berth, but simply put, it's not going to happen this year.
A strong young core of 2017 No. 1 overall pick Nico Hischier, 2019 No. 1 overall pick Jack Hughes, and fellow young forwards Jesper Bratt, Dawson Mercer and Yegor Sharangovich leads the way in what should be a strong future that also includes prospects Alexander Holtz and Luke Hughes, but the team's defense hasn't been good enough to win enough games this year.
While the Devils are coming off a 7-2 thumping of Vancouver at home last night, it's been a tough road for New Jersey. Since a 7-3-2 start, New Jersey has won just 12 of its next 41 games, and the squad is 5-13-0 in its last 18 games.
On the whole, New Jersey is 14th in the NHL with 3.08 goals per game, but the Devils are 27th in the NHL with 3.57 goals allowed. The Devils have given up 140 goals this year at 5-on-5, good for second to last in the NHL in front of only the Blue Jackets.
Offensively, Bratt has had a breakout campaign, as the 23-year-old Swedish forward leads the team and is over a point-per-game pace with an 19-31-50 line in 48 games. Hughes has had to battle injuries all season and has played just 33 games, but when healthy the 20-year-old looks like a star in the making with 16 goals and 38 points in that span.
Hischier is having a solid season with a 14-21-35 line, while Mercer is also just 20 but has 13 goals and 31 points in 53 games. Damon Severson leads the defensive scorers with 7-23-30 in 50 games, asoffseason pickup Dougie Hamilton missed almost two months with a broken jaw but has 8-14-22 in 33 games.
The Devils have been beset by goaltender injuries with both Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier missing extended time. Rookie Nico Daws started last night vs. Vancouver, which means veteran Jon Gillies (3-9-0/3.77/.884) could be slotted to start against the Blue Jackets.