Two more defeats for Nico and the New Jersey Devils. Taking on the Columbus Blue Jackets (0-3) and New York Islanders (1-3) in their final two games before a league-wide, three-week Olympic break, the Devils fell to both division rivals in front of their home fans.

 

Losers of four out of five, New Jersey (57/58) have lost further ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race, now trailing the eight place Bruins by eleven points. Individually, Nico scored his 19th goal of the season (along with 23 assists) but finished the week a minus three. On average, he received 20:42 minutes of ice-time per game, while registering at total of seven shots on goal and prevailing in 50,2% of his faceoffs.

 

Over the next two weeks, Nico will compete at the Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy with Team Switzerland. In preliminary round action, Switzerland will take on France (Feb. 12), Canada (Feb. 13), and the Czech Republic (Feb. 15). Following the conclusion of the tournament (Feb. 22), Nico will return to action for the Devils, starting with a three-game stretch vs. the Sabres (Feb. 25), at the Penguins (Feb. 26) and at the Blues (Feb. 28).