Devils vs. Blue Jackets Odds
| Devils Odds | -162 |
| Blue Jackets Odds | +132 |
| Over / Under | 6.5 -132 / +106 |
The Devils' young core finally broke through in the 2022-23 season, as they put up 112 points and bested rival New York in round one of the playoffs. If anything, their roster looked to be considerably improved entering this season, but due to a nightmare injury situation and league worst goaltending, they could miss the playoffs altogether.
New Jersey can't afford to wait for Jack Hughes to return to the lineup to start winning some games any longer. Some of their stars need to step up and help fill his loss, which is the angle we are targetting with my favorite bet from this matchup.
Here is my Devils vs Blue Jackets prediction.
New Jersey Devils
The Devils have suffered through arguably the league's worst injury situation, which is one of two major reasons they have underachieved expectations so badly. They have consistently played without Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton and Timo Meier, while a plethora of other NHL mainstays have missed time.
They are set to remain without Hughes, Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler, Ondrej Palat, Brendan Smith, Thomas Nosek and Nolan Foote for tonight's matchup.
Even still, the situation is actually markedly better than it has been recently because star winger Meier returned to the lineup Wednesday versus Montreal. He registered four shots on goal from seven shot attempts across 20:41 of time on ice. He has drastically underperformed expectations when in the lineup this season, which has been another reason for New Jersey's struggles.
While it's tough to gauge due to the amount of pieces moving in and out of the lineup, the Devils' play has still looked less cohesive than we saw a year ago, which has lead to questions about Lindy Ruff's work as head coach. They lost assistant coach Andrew Brunette to the Predators, who continue to greatly outperforming expectations, and it seems possible that is an underrated factor in their drop-off.
With that said, next to nobody is going to succeed while receiving an .881 save % from their goaltenders, as the Devils have this season. Third stringer Nico Daws has ran with his opportunity recently though, playing to a .916 save % across six appearances with a +2.4 GSAx. He is probable to make the start tonight.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus will see Captain Boone Jenner return to the lineup tonight, which on a surface level is excellent news. Most indications are that the Blue Jackets are doing a poor job of allowing their top young pieces a good chance to acclimate at the NHL level with consistent roles on the team, and that seems to be the case again ahead of tonight's game.
Adam Fantilli had found some consistency playing big minutes in the center ice position recently. With Jenner back in the mix he will skate on the wing tonight. The Blue Jackets own a 0% chance of making the playoffs at this point per MoneyPuck.com, yet they seem to continue to make decisions based on attempting to win now.
Over the last 10 games the Blue Jackets have allowed 34.24 shots against per 60. Their roster features limited defensive upside, and it seems that Pascal Vincent does not have the answers to help clean up their game defensively.
Elvis Merzlikins has voiced his displeasure with his situation in Columbus, with a public trade request this week. Despite a 3.22 goals against average, the case that Merzlikins has been a better than average goaltender is actually quite clear. He has played to a .906 save %, compared to the league average mark of .904 this season, while facing tougher quality of shots than he would on a more competitive side.
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Devils vs. Blue Jackets
Betting Pick & Prediction
Versus a soft defensive side like Columbus we should expect the Devils to get a lofty total of shots on goal and plenty of quality chances. Still, their overall game has not been convincing recently, and while Daws has done well in a small sample, their goaltending is still a question mark. I expect the Devils to own more of the play here and likely grab the win, but not with enough conviction to bet them at -162.
The Devils also should be slightly less likely to win in blowout fashion than their price suggests, though. They have played from behind versus a number of weaker sides this year, which is always going to be a function of shaky goaltending. This is a must-have for New Jersey, so either of those game scripts should lead to huge usage for the stars remaining in the lineup.
Big usage for Timo Meier would obviously help him record over 3.5 shots on goal, which is available at +130 on FanDuel. While Meier's play this season has been a clear disappointment, he still continues to pump shots on goal from all over the ice. He's put up 21.24 shot attempts per 60 across all game action, but that mark rises with Jack Hughes sidelined, which is logical given that he becomes the primary shooter on the top powerplay unit.
Meier should play big minutes in this matchup, and he projects to have four shots often enough to hold value at +130.
Pick: Timo Meier Over 3.5 Shots on Goal (+130 via FanDuel, play to +120)
