G66 New Jersey Devils vs. Columbus Blue Jackets: High(er)-event hockey

Facing the Blue Jackets generally leads to an uptick in action.

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The New Jersey Devils play host to the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight in a game of great importance in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Here are a few notes to get you set for it:

High(er)-event hockey

The Devils tend to play a pretty slow, methodical brand of hockey. That will no doubt be the continued plan in the absence of Jack Hughes.

If there is a team that can make the Devils speed things up and bring more excitement to their game, it’s the Blue Jackets. We’ve already seen that on two occasions this season.

The Devils dropped their first head-to-head matchup by a 4-2 scoreline but generated a whopping 42 shots along the way.

They followed that up with a 4-2 victory in which both teams recorded 30+ shots and plenty of chances.

Columbus can score with the best of them but they struggle to defend, having allowed 31+ shots in five straight and seven of the last nine.

Win or lose, this should be a more eventful and up-tempo Devils game than we’ve grown accustomed to seeing under Sheldon Keefe.

A strong power play matchup