Both playoff chases in focus when Devils, Flames meet

The New Jersey Devils have created space ahead of their closest pursuers with the Stanley Cup playoffs coming into sight, and look to solidify their position further when they play host to the Calgary Flames on Thursday.

The Devils (37-26-6, 80 points) have won four of five games and own an eight-point edge on the New York Rangers for third spot in the Metropolitan Division with four weeks remaining in the regular season.

"We're in playoff hockey mode right now," defenseman Brenden Dillon said. "We need every point we can. We're seeing how the standings change every night it seems. This is a team, Calgary, that had a big win in New York. They're fighting for their lives in their own playoff race."

The Devils are coming off a 2-1 road victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday as they prepare to kick off a three-game homestand.

The Flames (31-25-11, 73 points) won the first meeting 3-0 in Calgary back in November. In that game, Calgary forward Ryan Lomberg broke the jaw of Nate Bastian in a fight.

Any retribution likely will be on the back burner with the playoff chase on high for both clubs, but the incident does add some spice.

"What happened last game will not be forgotten, and it will be taken care of," Devils forward Paul Cotter said. "At the end of the day, we're pushing to stay in a playoff spot and put ourselves in a better position, have ourselves ready, keep guys healthy. It is a bit of a balance."

New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said on Wednesday that goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who was acquired via trade from the Flames in the summer, will start.

The Flames arrive after netting an important 2-1 victory over the Rangers on Tuesday in the second instalment of a four-game road trip.

The victory leaves them two points behind the Vancouver Canucks in the chase for the Western Conference's second wild-card spot. Calgary holds one game in hand.

It was also a much-needed rebound performance after a 6-2 thumping at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs the night before, which left the club winless in three games with only two victories in nine outings (2-4-3).

"It's character. Just everybody doing whatever it took to win," Flames forward Nazem Kadri said. "Blocking shots, scored timely goals, especially with how the game started, it would have been easy to fold. But showed some great character and came back and played one of our best games of the year."

In a clash of two clubs that desperately needed a victory to keep pace in the playoffs chase, the Flames rebounded after falling behind 1-0 just over a minute into the affair and held the Rangers to only 13 shots on goal in a dominating performance.

"I think the complete game, that's one of the best we've played all year, for sure," Calgary coach Ryan Huska said. "We gave one up early, which is never a good thing, but I just felt like the guys were committed to doing things the right way. And I thought their goalie (Igor Shesterkin with 33 saves) was excellent. This was a night where we could have scored more than two or three."

--Field Level Media