BLUE JACKETS (36-26-3) AT DEVILS (25-33-8) 7 p.m. ET; MSG+ 2, FS-O, NHL.TV
The Blue Jackets, who have lost three of their past four, are two points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Center Nico Hischier has an upper body injury and will not play for the Devils, who have lost three in a row and five of their past seven (2-5-0).
Players to watch
Blue Jackets forward Artemi Panarin has six points (one goals, five assists) in his past five games. Devils goalie Cory Schneider is 4-2-0 with a 1.99 goals-against average, .936 save percentage in his past six games (five starts).
They said it
"We know we have more to give, so we just have to work through it. We still have an incredible amount of belief in this room. I don't care what people outside think about this room; that's why they're outside this room. We have an understanding in here of who we are, and we just have to get that consistency." -- Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno "We're kind of playing the spoiler role for the rest of the year so I think we're looking forward to the challenge. We're not going to be an easy team to play against for the last 15 games. As professional athletes we're always looking for a new challenge so I'm looking forward to another one tonight." -- Devils center Kevin Rooney
McQuaid, acquired in a trade from the New York Rangers on Feb. 25, will be a healthy scratch for the second straight game. ... Noesen returns to the lineup after missing 21 games with a lower-body injury. Gabriel returns to the lineup after serving a one-game suspension. Mueller has resumed skating on his own. Vatanen and Hischier are day-to-day.
Stat pack
Josh Anderson (59 goals, 40 assists in 224 games) needs one point for 100 in his NHL career. Werenski has five assists in his past six games. .... Bratt has nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past eight games.
