Saturday, December 16, 2023 – 7:00 PM ET
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
TV: Bally Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
New Jersey Devils (15-11-1, 31 points, 6th Metro, 11th East)
at
Columbus Blue Jackets (10-16-5, 25 points, 8th Metro, 15th East)
Try not to blow any third period leads on your way to the parking lot!
Player to Watch
Daniil Tarasov
Scary Tarry makes his season debut after starting the season on the injured list. He played 4 rehab games in Cleveland, collecting a 2-1-0 record, .915 save percentage, and 2.57 GAA. He was 4-11-1 in 17 games with Columbus last season, with an .892 save percentage and 3.91 GAA.
Jackets Notes
Lots of injuries to report…First, Patrik Laine’s injury on Thursday night in Toronto was confirmed as a broken clavicle, and he will miss six weeks of action … For those of you listening on the radio tonight, Bob McElligott is out with illness, so Dylan Tyrer will handle the play by play and Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre will join for color analysis after working the TV pregame … As if that’s not enough, assistant coach Steve McCarthy was struck in the head with a puck at practice yesterday, receiving a cut and a concussion. Scary stuff, and hopefully a smooth recovery for him (and Patty and Bobby Mac, of course)
The Other Bench
Since the last time we saw the Devils, Dougie Hamilton suffered a torn pectoral muscle, which will keep him out for awhile. In his place is Simon Nemec, the #2 overall pick from the 2022 draft. Nemec and David Jiricek were the first two defensemen taken that year, so it will be fun to watch them face off tonight … Since losing to Columbus on Black Friday (their third loss in a row), the Devils have won 7 of their last 9 … Captain Nico Hischier returned to the lineup the day after that Columbus game, and has scored 4/6/10 in those 9 games. Probably not a coincidence they’re playing way better with him!
Season Series
11/24/2023 CBJ 2 @ NJD 1
12/16/2023 NJD @ CBJ
12/27/2023 CBJ @ NJD
01/19/2024 NJD @ CBJ
Stats
| New Jersey | Columbus | |
| 3.48 (8) | GPG | 3.00 (20) |
| 3.52 (28) | GAPG | 3.55 (29) |
| 31.8 (1) | PP% | 14.9 (25) |
| 75.6 (26) | PK% | 85.1 (7) |
| 54.9 (5) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 46.6 (26) |
| 53.4 (5) | 5v5 Unblocked Shot Attempt % | 46.8 (25) |
| 8.0 (24) | 5v5 Shooting % | 9.5 (8) |
| 89.9 (28) | 5v5 Save % | 90.7 (19) |
| Jesper Bratt, Tyler Toffoli, 12 | G Leader | Boone Jenner, 13 |
| Jack Hughes, 23 | A Leader | Zach Werenski, 22 |
| Jack Hughes, 34 | P Leader | Zach Werenski, 23 |
| Brendan Smith, 34 | PIM Leader | Erik Gudbranson, 42 |
| 9-5-0 | Home/Road | 7-8-2 |
| 7-3-0 | Last 10 | 4-5-1 |
Projected Lines
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Johnny Gaudreau | Adam Fantilli | Justin Danforth |
| Yegor Chinakhov | Dmitri Voronkov | Kirill Marchenko |
| Emil Bemstrom | Cole Sillinger | Kent Johnson |
| Alexandre Texier | Sean Kuraly | Mathieu Olivier |
| Zach Werenski | Nick Blankenberg |
| Ivan Provorov | David Jiricek |
| Andrew Peeke | Erik Gudbranson |
| Daniil Tarasov |
| Spencer Martin |
New Jersey Devils
| Tyler Toffoli | Jack Hughes | Jesper Bratt |
| Ondrej Palat | Nico Hischier | Timo Meier |
| Erik Haula | Dawson Mercer | Alexander Holtz |
| Curtis Lazar | Michael McLeod | Nathan Bastian |
| Jonas Siegenthaler | Simon Nemec |
| Kevin Bahl | John Marino |
| Luke Hughes | Colin Miller |
| Vitek Vanecek |
| Akira Schmid |