The New Jersey Devils defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3 on Tuesday night at the Prudential Center. The Devils, who have struggled to score lately, exploded for five goals during the game, including a three-goal first period that got the fans engaged early. With the win, the Devils improved to 35-25-6 and opened up a six-point gap over the Blue Jackets, who fell to 31-25-8.
Game Recap
Period One
The Devils had the early edge in play, gaining zone time and putting a few shots on Elvis Merzlikins.
New Jersey got the game’s first power play after Nate Bastian was tripped, and they cashed in at 6:37 with a nice redirection by Nico Hischier. Jesper Bratt and Luke Hughes had the assists.
The Blue Jackets got a power play, but the Devils put together a masterful penalty kill, generating more offensive opportunities than they allowed.
Fresh out of the penalty box, Paul Cotter grabbed the puck and scored a beautiful, unassisted five-hole goal off the rush, at 10:49.
With a few minutes left in the period, Dawson Mercer had a hard net drive stopped by Merzlikins. The puck went the other way, and Jacob Markstrom made a nice save of his own to preserve the two-goal lead.
In perhaps the most highly anticipated event of the evening, the crowd roared during the TV timeout as fans were treated to the long-awaited first victory of the season for the Mrs. Fields cookie in the dessert race. Mrs. Fields was 0-29 on the season, garnering abundant support from fans on social media.
At 18:51, the Devils extended their lead with a nice play by Bratt to swipe the puck from Zach Werenski and light the lamp. Cody Glass had the lone assist for his second point in as many games with New Jersey.
The Devils outshot the Blue Jackets 11-6 in a really strong first 20 minutes.
Period Two
Columbus had their best shift of the game early in the second, and after a shot block got the Devils a bit out of position, Mathieu Olivier redirected a shot past Markstrom at 3:30. Denton Mateychuk and Kent Johnson had the assists.
The Devils answered with some pressure, but the Blue Jackets got another goal at 7:16 to cut New Jersey’s lead to one. Kirill Marchenko earned his 25th goal of the season with assists from Adam Fantilli and Werenski.
Off the rush, Brian Dumoulin had a strong net drive but couldn’t beat Merzlikins.
Hischier was called for a questionable trip after a collision behind the Blue Jackets net, but the penalty was negated with 48 seconds left after Brett Pesce was hooked.
The Devils had a flurry of opportunities but couldn’t cash in.
After a great defensive play in his own end, Timo Meier carried the puck into the offensive zone and ripped a shot past Merzlikins at 16:49. Stefan Noesen tallied a primary assist, and Dumoulin added a secondary assist for his first point as a Devil.
The Devils outshot Columbus 11-8 in the middle frame.
Period Three
New Jersey regained the three-goal lead just seconds into the period with a long-distance snipe from Luke Hughes at 00:26. Glass added his second primary assist of the night, and Bratt collected his 55th assist of the season.
Erik Haula got tagged for a tripping minor, but the Devils killed it off without issue.
Past the halfway point of the period, Columbus added another goal at 10:29 after Bratt went for a stick check but accidentally redirected the puck over Markstrom. Olivier was credited for the goal, with an assist from Boone Jenner.
Sheldon Keefe had an animated discussion with the officials following the goal. There was a missed high-sticking penalty on Lazar and a waived-off icing call that had him unhappy.
Columbus was tagged for a high-sticking penalty minutes later, but the Devils were a bit sloppy and couldn’t convert.
Olivier went after Bastian after the whistle, giving New Jersey a power play with about three minutes left in the game. They couldn’t cash in, but they ran valuable time off the clock.
Pesce was high-sticked for the second time in the period, effectively ending any slim chance of a comeback by Columbus.
The Devils outshot the Blue Jackets 28-20 in the 5-3 victory.
Takeaways
Turn the Tides
Since the Four-Nations break, the Devils have had the 25th ranked shooting percentage in the NHL. They’ve generated chances, but most of the pressure has come from the outside. When the Devils did manage to create slot shots or chances off rebounds, they struggled to finish the opportunity and bury the puck behind opposing netminders.
That was not the case against the Blue Jackets. The Devils jumped on Columbus early and created numerous grade-A looks, but most importantly, they cashed in on the scoreboard. They converted on five of their 25 shots in the game, a much more favorable percentage than in recent games. Additionally, they forechecked hard and got to the middle of the ice, giving Columbus’ defense trouble and allowing for redirections in front of the net.
This is exactly the kind of performance that the Devils need to recreate to gain momentum in the final stretch of the regular season. They have had consistently great goaltending and defense all season, and ultimately, their success will depend on whether they can raise their collective shooting percentage.
Up Next
The Devils are back in action on Thursday night when they take on the Edmonton Oilers at the Rock.
This is the second and final meeting between the two teams this season. The Devils shut out the Oilers in a 3-0 victory on November 4th.
The Oilers sit second in the Pacific Division with a 37-23-4 record, but they are just 3-7-0 in their past ten contests. Most recently, they lost 3-2 to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.
Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+.
ITR 39: Conference Finals – Inside The Rink
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