Only two points are separating the New Jersey Devils and the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Eastern Conference standings, but it is truly two teams heading in opposite directions that will face-off at the Nationwide Arena tonight. The Devils have suffered five straight defeats while the Blue Jackets are off six consecutive wins, and I see no reason not to back the hotter of the two teams in this match-up.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. New Jersey's Goalscoring Woes - A vital component (to say the least) to win a game of hockey is to outscore your opponent. It's hard to do that when you're averaging one goal per game, and that's exactly why the Devils have lost five straight. This is not a new issue though, their 2.16 goal per game average on the season is the third worst mark in the NHL, and goals won't come easy tonight either coming up against a red hot Sergei Bobrovsky who has won five straight starts behind a 2.17 GAA.

2. Columbus Goalscoring Surge - The Blue Jackets on the other hand have had little trouble finding the net of late, averaging 4.5 goals per game over a six game winning streak. Scott Hartnell's 11 goals in March is a league-best and he put three past the Ducks his last outing in Columbus. Cam Atkinson has been even hotter over recent games tallying seven points over his last three, and lets not forget about team-best Ryan Johansen who has nine points in a seven-game streak.

3. X-Factor - The Blue Jackets picked up a marquee 4-2 win at St. Louis Saturday and have won all of their last seven playing on two days of rest.

Selection: This is a play on the Columbus Blue Jackets ML (8*)