COLUMBUS, OH – The Columbus Blue Jackets snapped a four-game losing streak with a furious rally, scoring four unanswered goals to defeat the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Saturday night.
After falling behind 2-0 early, the Blue Jackets battled back, fueled by a physical second period and capitalizing on opportunities in the third. The game featured a combined 74 penalty minutes, including 64 in the second period, and saw key Devils players sidelined.
New Jersey jumped to a 1-0 lead at 1:26 of the first period when Nico Hischier‘s centering pass deflected off the stick of Columbus defenseman Ivan Provorov. Palat extended the Devils’ advantage to 2-0 at 3:03 with a wrist shot from the slot.
Denton Mateychuk cut the Blue Jackets’ deficit to 2-1 with a power-play goal at 9:54, redirecting a shot from the slot. Later in the period, Timo Meier appeared to give New Jersey a 3-1 lead at 17:08, but the goal was overturned after a Blue Jackets’ challenge revealed goalie interference by Stefan noesen.
Monahan tied the game 2-2 at 1:28 of the second period with a wrist shot from the left hash marks during 4-on-4 play. The period quickly escalated,with Devils defenseman Brenden Dillon,playing in his 1,000th NHL game,leaving the game after a fight with Dmitri Voronkov at 1:01. Dillon did not return for the third period. New Jersey also lost Jonas Siegenthaler, who received a game misconduct at 3:58 for an improperly fastened jersey during a fight.
“After [Dillon left], emotions were high,” Hischier said. “It was 2-2, the game was open, and some mistakes cost us.”
The Blue Jackets seized the momentum in the third period. Coyle converted a rebound at the left post at 6:40 to give Columbus a 3-2 lead, and Monahan scored 34 seconds later on a snap shot outside the right post to make it 4-2.
“We held our ground when they had pushes, and when they dropped [the gloves] and came a little harder, we held our ground and fought right back,” Coyle said. “It doesn’t have to be fights, but that kind of got us more into the game. we played a little more physical and it brought out the best in us.”
New Jersey coach sheldon Keefe expressed frustration with his team’s emotional response. “I don’t like how we handled those situations emotionally,” Keefe said. “Obviously, not long after the situation with [Dillon] they scored, so I don’t like that. We’ve got to do a better job of staying in it emotionally, as hard as it might be.”
