The New Jersey Devils are in second place in the Atlantic Division, just two points behind the front running Pittsburgh Penguins. Overall in the Eastern Conference, New Jersey has the third most points, but due to NHL rules, would hold the fourth seed in the postseason. New Jersey has lost two straight games; at Toronto, and at home to St. Louis. The Devils are 24-10-1 at home on the season. Zach Parise is the leading scorer for New Jersey, with 37 assists and 33 goals, including the game winner in Monday’s win over Boston. The Devils have scored 20 more goals than their opponents this season; 189 – 169. The Devils are 6-9-1 against the Western Conference.

Columbus is coming off the 1-0 overtime loss to Nashville on Saturday night. With 12 overtime losses, that ranks third most in the Western Conference, behind only Detroit and Dallas. The Blue Jackets have struggled on the road this season, winning just 11 of 36. The Blue Jackets have allowed 229 goals and scored 187 on the season. When playing against teams from the Eastern Conference, Columbus is 7-5-2.

The Predators are looking to secure a berth into the Western Conference play-offs. Nashville, at 40-26-5, has 85 points, which is tied in sixth with Los Angeles. The Predators and Kings are just one point behind fifth seeded Colorado. Nashville has won 20 games at home, losing 12, and skating to tie overtime losses. They have won four straight games; at Anaheim and Los Angeles, and at home over Philadelphia and Minnesota. Within the Central Division, the Predators are in second place, behind Chicago, and in front of Detroit – by five points.

Columbus is in fifth place in the Central Division, 30 points behind first place Chicago. The Blue Jackets have won two straight games, since their loss to the Blues last Saturday. Rick Nash returned to the lineup on Friday night, after missing several games with an injury. Nash leads the team in points with 57, including 29 assists and 28 goals.

This will be the fifth and final time these two teams met up this season. The Predators won the first three; and Columbus bounced back on January 26th with a 3-2 win.

The Wild got off to a fast start, scoring the lone goal of the first period. Mikko Koivu scored his 20th goal of the season, with an assist from Antti Mettiten at the 10:28 mark of the first period. Columbus put 11 shots on goal in the period, but goaltender Josh Harding denied all of them.

Minnesota extended their lead to 2-0 just 2:42 into the second period, as Chuck Kobasew scored his 6th goal of the season. Assists on the goal came from Casey Wellman and Cam Baker. The Blue Jackets got on the scoreboard at the 13:23 mark when Kristian Huselius scored his 20th goal of the season. R.J. Umberger and Jared Boll notched assists
The third period was all Columbus, as Kris Russell scored his 7th goal, which tied the game. Nash scored his 29th at the 11:29 mark, and then later added his 30th with just :38 remaining in the game. Jakub Vorachek assisted on the third goal and Antoine Vermette on the fourth.

In the game, Mathieu Garon saved 18 of 20 shots, while the Blue Jackets fired 28 total shots on Harding. The lost for the Wild was their 31st of the season, and it kept them six points back of a final play-off spot in the Western Conference.

The Wild are in 11th place overall in the Western Conference, but just six points behind 8th seeded Detroit. They trail St. Louis by a single point and Calgary by five for 9th and 10th. On the road this season, Minnesota is 11-20-3. The Wild are being out-scored on the season 197-188. Their leading scorer on the season is Mikki Koivu with 19 goals and 43 assists. Goaltender Niklas Backstrom is 24-19-6 on the season, with a 2.65 GAA. Backstrom is questionable for the game with a groin injury.

The Blue Jackets are 17-11-7 at home, and trail Anaheim by three points for 13th place in the Western Conference. Columbus has been out scored 226 – 183 on the season, for a differential of 43, which is third worst in the NHL. The Blue Jackets are led in scoring by Rick Nash with 29 assists and 28 goals.

In the season opener for both teams, the Blue Jackets downed the Wild 2-1 at Nationwide Arena. The two teams then met again in the middle of December, with the Wild returning the favor with a 2-1 win. That game was in a streak of eight straight losses for Columbus. On January 23rd, Columbus returned to Minnesota, and the Wild picked up a 4-2 win. This will be the final time these two teams meet up this season.

In front of 16,453 at Nationwide Arena the Blues outs hot the Blue Jackets 36-25. St. Louis was penalized for 16 minutes, while Columbus committed six penalties for 12 minutes. The win for St. Louis moved them to 32-26-9, while the loss for the Blue Jackets sent them to 27-31-11.

The win for the Blues also pushed them to five points back of eighth seeded Detroit with just 15 games to play in the regular season.

The Blue Jackets are six points behind St. Louis for fourth place in the Central Division of the Western Conference. Within the entire Western Conference, St. Louis comes in at 10th place, six points behind eighth seeded Nashville and Calgary. The Blue Jackets continue to sit at 14th; three points behind both Minnesota and Anaheim.

St. Louis has won six of their last ten overall. The Blues have had more success on the road than they have at home this season. St. Louis is 19-10-4 in road games, while just 12-16-5 at home. On the season, the Blues have allowed 183 goals, while scoring 179. St. Louis is coming off a 2-1 win Thursday night on the road against the Islanders. This game for the Blues is their fifth of a six game road trip. Andy McDonald leads the team in scoring, with 20 goals and 21 assists for 41 total points. Goaltender Chris Mason has compiled a record of 23-18-8 on the season, with a 2.52 goals against average.

The first time these two teams met up, the Blue Jackets topped the Blues 5-2 at Nationwide Arena. The two teams met up again, in Columbus on January 18th, where the Blue Jackets again beat the Blues 4-2. The first time the Blue Jackets visited St. Louis, the Blue Jackets won again, this time in overtime, 3-2. The teams will play their final time this season, at the Scotts trade Center in St. Louis on April 5th.

R.J. Umberger scored the first goal of the game at the 6:36 mark of the first period. The goal came on the power play, and was assisted by Kristian Huseluis and Fredor Tyutin. The goal was Umberger’s 20th of the season. Atlanta committed both penalties in a swift, crisp period.

Huseluis was the lone player to score in the second period, his 18th of the season. The goal came at the 15:25 mark and assisted by Kris Russell and Derek Dorsett. Both teams were whistled for four minutes worth of penalties in the period.

With just over 2:00 to go in the goal, Atlanta scored their first goal of the game. Johnny Oduya scored his third goal of the season, assisted by Slava Kozlov. In the game, Atlanta was called for 10 minutes of penalties, while the Blue Jackets committed three, for six minutes.

Mathieu Garon won his second straight start saving 28 of 29 shots, including 17 in the final period.

The Thrashers are in a dog fight for the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta is 28-27-10 overall, for 66 points. The New York Rangers stand with 67 points, while the Boston Bruins hold the final postseason position with 70. Atlanta has won 13 of 34 on the road this season. They are coming off three straight losses, including a 2-1 defeat to Nashville on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, General Manager Don Waddell announced he was recalling 48 year old Chris Chelios to the team. Chelios’ status for Thursday’s game is unknown.

The Blue Jackets’ leading scorer Rick Nash will be questionable for the game, after sitting out of Tuesday night’s game. Nash leads with 57 total points; 27 assists and 28 goals. Columbus will play their next four games at home.
The first time these two teams played was November 5th. On that night, the Blue Jackets came away with a 4-3 win. This will be the final time this season the two teams will meet.

Derek Dorsett scored the lone first period goal, just 8:55 into the game, scoring his 4th of the season. The goal was assisted by Antoine Vermette and Michael Blunden. Dorsett and Ducks’ defensemen Matt Beleskey immediately got in a fight following the goal. The period saw two fights and 24 minutes of penalties.

The second period saw the Blue Jackets extend their lead to 3-0 after Jakub Voracek and Fedor Tyutin both scored. Voracek’s goal was on the power play. The period was another full of penalties; 30 minutes in all.

The Ducks fought back with two goals early in the third period, but Vermette added his second of the game, followed by an empty net goal with just 17 seconds remaining from Derick Brassard’s 8th of the season.
The win for Columbus snapped their five game losing streak.

Anaheim is six points out of a final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Ducks have won 30 of their 65 games on the season. When playing at home, they have a 19-9-3 record. They come into action, losers of three straight games, including a 4-3 home loss Sunday to Montreal. Anaheim is led in goals by Bobby Ryan, with 28, but Ryan Getzlaf leads all scorers with 17 goals and 46 assists. The Ducks top goaltender Jonas Hiller has compiled a 26-19-3 record, with a 2.76 GAA.

Columbus needs to find a way to snap the losing streak, to climb their way up the standings. Columbus, in no danger of falling below Edmonton, is just 6 points behind Minnesota, and 13th behind 8th seeded Detroit. The Blue Jackets are 10-20-4 on the road this season, and have been out scored 215 – 170, which is the third worst goal differential in all of the NHL.

The Ducks and Blue Jackets will play for the fourth and final time this season. Columbus won the first two of the season series, with Anaheim winning the last one. On December 12th, Anaheim skated away from Nationwide Arena with a 3-1 win. In early October, Columbus won 6-4 on the road, and then in mid-November, followed it up with a 3-2 shoot-out win, in front of the home fans.