The Columbus Blue Jackets wrapped up their six-game home stand tonight with a strong effort, resulting in a 2-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.
Columbus got off to a fast start, with Nick Foligno tapping home the puck for an easy goal (thanks to a nifty pass from Pierre-Luc Dubois) to make it 1-0 just four minutes into the game.
The Blue Jackets had a similarly quick start to the game's second period, with Cam Atkinson scoring on a penalty shot to extend the lead to 2-0 just under a minute into the frame. Still, Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood stood tall for much of the game – his first career start, no less – holding the Blue Jackets to just those two goals on 38 shots as a team.
As good as Blackwood was, though, Sergei Bobrovsky was even better in net for the Blue Jackets, with 30 saves on 31 shots to get the win.
1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
---|---|---|---|---|
BLUE JACKETS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
DEVILS | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
New Jersey may be near the bottom of the league standings (and last in the Metropolitan Division), but they put up enough of a fight to at least make this one interesting. Blackwood turned in a stellar performance, Taylor Hall had a breakaway goal and there were a few chippy moments between the two teams.
In the end, though, Columbus will walk away with two more points, and end their homestand on a high note. Speaking of high notes, let's take a look at the stickhandling clinic Cam Atkinson put on to score his 20th goal of the season.
Oh yeah, that's the stuff.
Injury Update
No injuries for the Blue Jackets.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets have a road back-to-back starting on Saturday in Philadelphia, with the second leg coming against these same New Jersey Devils.