The New Jersey Devils lost 4-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night. The Devils put on a show offensively, more than doubling Columbus’ shot total, but a few turnovers and Elvis Merzlikins’ best performance of the season cost New Jersey two points in the standings. With the loss, the Devils fell to 21-11-3, while the Blue Jackets improved to 13-15-5.
Game Recap
Period One
The Devils had the early edge in play, but the Blue Jackets broke the ice first. Jake Allen made an initial stop, but Ivan Provorov found the loose puck in the blue paint to give Columbus an early lead at 7:55. Zach Aston-Reese and Mathieu Olivier had the assists.
New Jersey responded with strong shifts, including two grade-A chances by Luke Hughes, both saved by Merzlikins.
The Devils carried play throughout the rest of the period but couldn’t tie the game despite many dangerous looks.
New Jersey outshot Columbus 7-6 in the first 20 minutes.
Period Two
The Devils came out flying in the second with six shots on net in the first four minutes. Jack Hughes was particularly noticeable, putting a few dangerous shots on Merzlikins and setting up his teammates in prime areas of the ice.
New Jersey was called for a penalty, but the penalty kill stayed hot and kept Columbus to the outside.
The Devils went right back to the penalty kill after Timo Meier was called for goaltender interference. Meier was driven into Merzlikins by a defending Blue Jacket but was still called for an infraction.
The Blue Jackets converted on the power play with a shot through a screen by Zach Werenski at 9:36. Kirill Marchenko and Sean Monahan had the assists.
There was a scrum behind the play after Sean Kuraly skated into Allen, and Johnathan Kovacevic and Brett Pesce took exception. No penalties were called.
The Blue Jackets scored again at 13:58, this time on a Monahan redirection in front. Dmitri Voronkov and Marchenko assisted.
The Devils went right back to the offensive zone and rang a shot off the post. Jack Hughes had another excellent opportunity that was robbed by Merzlikins, who was Columbus’ best player by far.
New Jersey got its first power play of the night after Werenski shot the puck out of play following an extended O-zone shift. The Devils could not convert.
The Devils outshot the Blue Jackets 17-8 in the middle frame. Jack Hughes tallied eight of those shots.
Period Three
The Devils had a great chance in the first minute of the period, but Merzlikins made another miraculous save on Luke Hughes, who had numerous dangerous opportunities in the game.
Meier had an unimpeded chance off the rush, but Merzlikins kept it out again.
The Blue Jackets got a three-on-one break after Luke Hughes blew a tire, but Allen made a big save, and Pesce cleared the rebound to prevent a four-goal deficit.
The Devils generated more pressure, with an elongated shift in the zone, but they couldn’t light the lamp.
New Jersey pulled the goalie with over five minutes left in the game. Meier hit another post after a nice passing play from Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier.
The Devils finally cashed in at 17:10 on their 41st shot of the game. Luke Hughes was rewarded for a fantastic game with a top-shelf goal after Merzlikins had gone down. Paul Cotter and Ondrej Palat added assists.
The Blue Jackets iced the puck repeatedly as the Devils hemmed them in the zone shift after shift. Merzlikins was visibly exhausted after holding his team in the game.
New Jersey pulled within one with a shot from the point by Jack Hughes that was deflected in by Meier at 18:35. Luke Hughes added a secondary assist.
Despite the late rally, the Blue Jackets eventually hit the empty net at 18:50 to ice the game. Sean Monahan got the goal.
The Devils outshot the Blue Jackets 42-20 in the loss.
Takeaways
Puck Management
While Merzlikins was the biggest factor in the game, the Devils handed the Blue Jackets a few goals, making their late surge fall short. One of the best elements of New Jersey’s game in the past stretch has been puck protection. They make safe and smart plays that force the opposition to work for every opportunity. It also gives Devils players time to recover should a blunder happen.
The Devils strayed from that against the Blue Jackets as a neutral zone turnover directly contributed to the first goal. New Jersey had complete possession of the puck, but a pass that didn’t quite connect went the other way and immediately ended up in the back of the net.
The second goal came after a failed clear on the penalty kill. New Jersey had an opportunity to get the puck out of the zone and go for a line change, but they never got it over the blue line, and it came back to bite them.
Columbus’ third goal was also immediately after a turnover. From behind the Devils’ net, Dougie Hamilton played the puck out to the circle and right to a Blue Jackets player, who then threw the puck on net and generated a rebound that was buried behind Allen.
The Devils had 22 total giveaways against the Blue Jackets. Comparatively, they had just 12 in their previous game against the St. Louis Blues.
Even with the uncharacteristic turnovers, New Jersey still allowed just 20 shots on net, extending its streak to five consecutive games, allowing 20 or fewer shots.
Never Say Die
Offensively, there is nothing to complain about regarding the Devils. The team carried play the whole game, especially in the third period, when they completely overwhelmed the Blue Jackets, outshooting them 21-6. The Hughes brothers alone had 19 shots on goal, just one shy of the shot total for Columbus’ entire roster. The Devils, as a team, had a whopping 97 shot attempts in the game, the fourth most by any team this season.
Down by three goals in the final frame, the Devils’ offense never changed its game, and by trusting the process, the goals eventually came. Even if it was too late to earn a point, the Devils needed a performance like this to break the shutout loss trend.
Merzlikins had a .887 SV% before the game on Thursday, but he had a .952 SV% against New Jersey and was posting a shutout until the final few minutes. It was a familiar sight for the Devils, who have already been shut out five times this season. This was a game that could’ve easily become a sixth shutout loss, but New Jersey fought through the adversity and finally cashed in against a goalie that seemed to have their number.
Hopefully, this can turn the tide for the Devils and allow them to claw back when opposing goalies have above-average performances.
Up Next
The Devils look to return to the win column on Saturday night when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in New Jersey.
The Penguins have climbed above .500 with a 7-2-1 stretch in their past ten games. They sit fourth in the Metropolitan Division with a 15-14-5 record and 35 points.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. on MSGSN and SN-PIT.
ITR 43: It's Winning Time – Inside The Rink
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