At the Rink: Blue Jackets at Devils

NEWARK, N.J. -- The Columbus Blue Jackets have dealt with injuries all season, the latest to forward David Clarkson, who will miss 4-6 weeks because of a torn oblique muscle. Clarkson played in two games after being acquired in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs last week.

With their game Friday against the New Jersey Devils, Columbus announced it will set a Blue Jackets record for man-games lost in a season with 413; the old mark of 411 was set during the 2010-11 season.

"It's been difficult, to be honest," Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno said. "It has not been an easy situation to have that many guys out of the lineup when all you want is to see how your team is like healthy. But the way you stay positive is that you still have a job to do and you still have to find ways to win hockey games in this league. … There have been a lot of opportunities for other guys because of it."

The Blue Jackets will get one injured player back in the lineup. Forward Brandon Dubinsky, who missed three games because of a concussion, will play. Dubinsky didn't speak to reporters.

"He's a really complete player that can do everything well; one of the best two-way forwards in the game," linemate Brian Gibbons said. "He might be known for more of his checking game and getting under the other team's skin and playing against the other team's best player, but he definitely has a lot of offensive skill."

Foligno agreed that it was important to have Dubinsky back in the lineup.

"He's a big on-ice leader for us, a guy in the locker room that gets guys into the battle," Foligno said. "He's a big-time player for us, so it's huge for us to have a guy with his type of presence back in the lineup who really plays the game hard and makes us a better team."

The Devils are aware of the Blue Jackets' injury problems but aren't focusing on that.

"They've had a lot of injuries throughout the year, but right now all we are focused on is Columbus and how we play," Devils co-coach Lou Lamoriello said. "Every game to us is the most important one."

The Devils are eight points behind the Boston Bruins for the second Eastern Conference wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. There are three teams in front of New Jersey.

"You can't help but look [at the standings] a little bit at what's going on," Devils forward Dainius Zubrus said. "We've done better lately a little bit, and I'm curious to see if we are making up any ground really, so I think it's normal. A lot of people do it. We have to win our games. Nothing is going to happen unless we do."

New Jersey is 8-2-1 in its past 11 games at Prudential Center.

Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who allowed four goals on 32 shots in a 5-3 loss to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday in his first game since sustaining a groin injury in January, will start.

"We've lost some games but you've got to be able to close the door and move past it and get ready for the next one," Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. "We've had some good moments; we just haven't found ways to win hockey games."

Here are the projected lineups:

BLUE JACKETS

Nick Foligno - Ryan Johansen - Cam Atkinson

Brandon Dubinsky - Artem Anisimov - Brian Gibbons

Scott Hartnell - Alexander Wennberg - Marko Dano

Corey Tropp - Mark Letestu - Jared Boll

Jack Johnson - David Savard

Fedor Tyutin - Dalton Prout

Justin Falk - Cody Goloubef

Sergei Bobrovsky

Curtis McElhinney

Scratched: Kevin Connauton

Injured: David Clarkson (oblique), Jack Skille (shoulder), Boone Jenner (stress fracture in back), Jeremy Morin (heart), Ryan Murray (high ankle sprain), Matt Calvert (concussion)

DEVILS

Mike Cammalleri - Travis Zajac - Jordin Tootoo

Adam Henrique - Scott Gomez - Steve Bernier

Dainius Zubrus - Patrik Elias - Stephen Gionta

Tuomo Ruutu - Jacob Josefson - Peter Harrold

Andy Greene - Adam Larsson

Jon Merrill - Damon Severson

Mark Fraser - Eric Gelinas

Cory Schneider

Keith Kinkaid

Scratched: Michael Ryder, Martin Havlat

Injured: Bryce Salvador (back), Ryane Clowe (concussion)

Status update: Lamoriello said he did not anticipate any lineup changes for the Devils. … Connauton will not play but may return to the lineup Saturday.

Who's hot: Cammalleri has six goals and three assists during his seven-game point streak. … Schneider is 9-2-1 with a .937 save percentage and a 1.87 goals-against average in 12 games against the Blue Jackets. … Hartnell has four points in his past two games.

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