Who is favoured, Columbus Blue Jackets or New Jersey Devils?

New Jersey Devils, at 53.5% in PuckCast's preseason forecast. That is a rating-based forecast; the full model read, with goalies, rest and form, publishes within seven days of puck drop.

What is a preseason forecast?

A win probability from each team's regressed preseason rating and home ice, the same ratings behind the 2026-27 projected standings. Those ratings are calibrated at the season level, for standings and playoff odds; this single-game percentage is a plain rating formula and has not been graded on its own yet. It is deliberately unsure about any single game, and the confidence grade says how far it leans.

When does the real prediction publish?

Inside the seven-day window before the game. The model re-scores it on every refresh until puck drop, with the confirmed starting goalies, and this page shows that read instead of the forecast.

Columbus Blue Jackets at New Jersey Devils, Thu, Jan 7: prediction and odds forecast

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2026-27 forecast · Thu, Jan 7, 7:00 PM ET

Columbus Blue JacketsCBJ

96 proj. pts · 47.6% playoffs

Elvis Merzlikins · 0.883 SV%

Cvs7:00 PM ET

New Jersey DevilsNJD

A preseason forecast from each team's regressed rating and home ice, the ratings behind the projected standings. The full model read, with the starting goalies, rest and form, publishes within seven days of the game and replaces this page’s numbers. How the model works

The read

Preseason ratings · last season’s record

CBJ controlled play at 5v5 last season, 51.9% of the expected goals to 49.0%; NJD's power play ran at 21.9% against a CBJ kill at 76.0%.

In goal, neither team has named a starter. Last season Jake Allen (NJD) saved -7.2 goals above expected to Elvis Merzlikins's -21.9, on save percentages of 0.904 and 0.883.

None of that is the model read. This is a rating-and-home-ice forecast; the full prediction — confirmed goalies, rest and form, priced against the market — publishes inside the seven days before puck drop and replaces these numbers. New Jersey Devils over Columbus Blue Jackets is where it starts, not where it ends.

In goal

goalie board

No starter is named this far out. These are each side’s projected starters on the current roster, with last season’s numbers.

CBJ

Elvis Merzlikins

SV%: 0.883
GSAx: -21.9
GAA: 3.40
Record: 14-11-3

30 games, 2025-26

NJD

Jake Allen

SV%: 0.904
GSAx: -7.2
GAA: 2.74
Record: 17-17-2

37 games, 2025-26

CBJ	Metric	NJD
51.9%	xGF% (5v5)	49.0%
50.5%	Shot share	51.9%
3.0	Goals for / game	2.8
3.1	Goals against / game	3.1
18.9%	Power play	21.9%
76.0%	Penalty kill	79.3%
50.6%	Faceoffs	50.5%

Who drives it

2026-27 projected points

Columbus Blue Jackets

Player	Pos	G	A	Pts
Zach Werenski	D	18	49	67
Kirill Marchenko	R	25	33	58
Sean Monahan	C	18	28	45
Kent Johnson	C	14	23	37

New Jersey Devils

Player	Pos	G	A	Pts
Jack Hughes	C	31	53	84

Last season, head to head

ledger

Date	Game	Pick	Score	Result
2026-02-03	CBJ @ NJD	NJD	CBJ 3–0 NJD	Missed
2025-12-31	NJD @ CBJ	CBJ	NJD 3–2 CBJ	Missed
2025-12-01	CBJ @ NJD	NJD	CBJ 5–3 NJD	Missed
2025-10-13	NJD @ CBJ	NJD	NJD 3–2 CBJ	Correct

Season outlook

projected standings

Team	Proj. points	Playoff odds
Columbus Blue Jackets	96	47.6%
New Jersey Devils	94	42.3%