Devils, Blue Jackets set for immediate rematch (Mar 07, 2017)
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The team on the other side of the ice will look quite familiar when the Columbus Blue Jackets and the New Jersey Devils face off Tuesday in Nationwide Arena.
The teams met 48 hours earlier in New Jersey, and Columbus came away with the 3-0 win powered by goals from Boone Jenner, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Sam Gagner.
Sergei Bobrovsky earned his fifth shutout of the season, posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time in his career and set a franchise single-season record for wins by a goaltender (34).
"Bob's been pretty good all year long," Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "There hasn't been a dip along the way. I think he came in with the right mental attitude and in a different type of (physical) condition and has just locked himself in. It gives us an opportunity to keep on climbing.
"(Goaltending) is your most important position, and we've got a good one there."
While Columbus (41-17-6) is in a neck-and-neck race with the Pittsburgh Penguins for second place in the Metropolitan Division, the Devils limp into Tuesday looking for their first win in eight games.
"It's frustrating," New Jersey right winger Kyle Palmieri said after the Sunday loss. "It's been a while since you get to come into the locker room after a game and be excited and enjoy it with your teammates. That's a feeling every hockey player wants to have.
"Over the last week or two, we've been happy with the way we played, just not with the results. I don't know if we can say that tonight, but we get another chance at these guys on Tuesday."
The game in Columbus is the first of a three-game road trip for New Jersey (25-28-12), and the Devils hope to finally string some wins together. They are buoyed by the fact that they beat the Jackets 5-1 during their first trip to Nationwide Arena on Feb. 4.
According to the Record of Bergen County, N.J., the Devils will be without captain Andy Greene (personal), Michael Cammalleri (shoulder) and Jacob Josefson (upper body) on Tuesday. However, the team does have center Pavel Zacha back in the lineup. He played in his first game Sunday after missing four due to a concussion.
"We just have to find a way to play like the last time we played there," Zacha said. "Shoot a lot of pucks and get a lot of pucks to the net. (We need to) have really good special teams, get power-play goals, (have a) really good forecheck. We need to play really hard and score goals."
The Devils not only will need to try to score goals, but they must defend against a Columbus offense that is getting scoring from up and down the lineup.
Gagner has two goals and one assist in his past two games after not scoring a goal since Dec. 23. Bjorkstrand, who was called up to the team Feb. 14, has three goals and three assists in nine games since joining the Blue Jackets.
"You hope (adding Bjorkstrand) is our deadline move," Tortorella said. "Forget about the offense, you can see his defense. I think he's working so hard on the other stuff, and that's what kept him out of the lineup earlier -- his energy, his battle level, his competitiveness -- that's what kept him out. I think he's been very consistent there (since joining the team)."
Eyes will also be on Jackets rookie defenseman Zach Werenski, who is sixth on the team in points (9-30-39). His point total is tied with Rick Nash for the franchise's rookie record.
Jackets forward Josh Anderson left Sunday's game in the second period and did not return due to a lower-body injury. He is expected to be out seven to 10 days, according to the Columbus Dispatch. On Monday, Columbus recalled forward TJ Tynan from the AHL Cleveland Monsters as a fill-in.
