The Columbus Blue Jackets will aim to snap a three-game losing streak when they host the New Jersey Devils on Monday night.
Monday is the third of a four-game homestand for the Blue Jackets, who were blanked 4-0 by the New York Rangers on Saturday.
“I’ll be honest, there was some frustration at the end. Like you could tell that we were frustrated,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. “And when you get frustrated, you kind of throw some blame around and we haven’t done that, right? We’ve stuck together and that’s what our message was after and will be again moving forward.”
Columbus has lost three straight and five of their past six. The Blue Jackets have also been shut out in three of the past five games, including 4-0 last Thursday to open the homestand against Vegas.
Goaltender Daniil Tarasov, who made 17 saves in Saturday’s loss, is 7-8-2 in 17 games this season with a 3.51 goals-against average and an .882 save percentage. Fellow netminder Jet Greaves is 2-1-2 in five starts this season, with a .906 save percentage and a 2.98 GAA.
Defenseman Zach Werenski paces the Blue Jackets with 49 assists and 69 points in 65 games this season, while Kirill Marchenko has a team-leading 25 goals in 63 contests.
Columbus, two points out of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference entering Sunday’s action, is 5-5-0 over its last 10 and 20-8-4 on home ice this season.
Monday is the third and final meeting of the season between the Blue Jackets and Devils. The two clubs met last Tuesday, and New Jersey picked up a 5-3 victory in Newark, N.J. The Blue Jackets doubled up the Devils 4-2 in the season’s first meeting on Dec. 19.
New Jersey heads to Columbus looking to get back into the win column after having its three-game winning streak snapped in a 7-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
Cody Glass, Nico Hischier and Timo Meier scored in the loss, while Jacob Markstrom made 16 saves.
“It’s just a lot of things that are not winning hockey, in terms of our execution (on Saturday) and just some of our mistakes,” Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. “You get what you deserve. So, momentum, stuff like that, we’re just hoping that things work out in our favor at that point.”
Jesper Bratt had three assists in his third straight three-point game (two goals, seven assists). His 60 assists tied Scott Stevens for the most in a single season in Devils history.
Bratt leads the Devils with 79 points in 68 games. Captain Nico Hischier has a team-leading 28 goals in 62 appearances.
“You give up seven goals, that’s not a recipe to win,” Hischier said of Saturday’s loss. “We beat ourselves.”
The Devils, third in the Metropolitan Division, are 5-5-0 over their last 10 and 19-15-2 on the road this season.
Markstrom is 22-13-5 with a .902 save percentage and a 2.45 GAA in 41 starts this season. In 25 games, Jake Allen is 11-13-1 with a .911 save percentage and a 2.60 GAA.
–Field Level Media
