Despite having three separate leads, the Blue Jackets lost 4-3 to the New Jersey Devils in overtime at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Wednesday.
1st Period
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| NJ DEVILS | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
Jake Bean opened the scoring at 6:39 when he fired the rebound from Alexandre Texier's shot past Vitek Vanacek from the right circle.
#CBJ Bean (2) goal pic.twitter.com/yEqsdH7Txi
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 28, 2023
After exiting the penalty box, Ondrej Palat received a nice drop pass from Erik Haula and tied the score from the slot at 9:55.
#NJDevils Palat goal pic.twitter.com/OYgFD7ZViU
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 28, 2023
The clubs were tied at one after the first period with Columbus taking a 9-8 advantage in shots on goal into the second period.
2nd Period
Elvis Merzlikins kept the game tied with an unreal pad save on Dawson Mercer at 2:51.
Mathieu Olivier nearly gave the Blue Jackets the lead at 6:15 when he deflected a shot from the point and was denied again on the rebound from the right doorstep.
Justin Danforth put Columbus ahead at 8:28 when he re-directed David Jiricek's shot past Vanecek after Adam Fantilli set up Jiricek.
#CBJ Danforth (9) goal pic.twitter.com/S5BhEdAZRZ
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 28, 2023
Texier nearly doubled the Columbus lead at 18:35 when Cole Sillinger set him up in front of the net, but he hit the post.
The Blue Jackets led 2-1 after the second period while trailing 18-17 in shots on goal.
3rd Period
Emil Bemstrom had a solid chance to give the Blue Jackets a two-goal lead at 9:59 after he received a wonderful pass from Kent Johnson, but couldn't score from the right doorstep.
After killing off a penalty, the Blue Jackets conceded the game-tying goal when Dawson Mercer wired a wrist shot from the high slot past Merzlikins at 15:51.
#NJDevils Mercer goal pic.twitter.com/dcZIlVemCa
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 28, 2023
Yegor Chinakhov gave the Blue Jackets the lead at 17:34 after Jonas Siegenthaler fumbled the puck in the neutral zone, leading to a Chinakhov breakaway.
#CBJ Chinakhov (10) goal pic.twitter.com/lusT2xaReP
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 28, 2023
Luke Hughes tied the game at 18:35 with an end-to-end goal that saw him weave through multiple Blue Jackets defenders.
#NJDevils L. Hughes goal pic.twitter.com/wVPAz3mBoK
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 28, 2023
The teams were tied at three after regulation with New Jersey leading 33-28 in shots on goal.
Overtime
After Johnson fanned on a shot from the high slot, Timo Meier scored on a breakaway to win it for New Jersey.
#NJDevils Meier goal pic.twitter.com/qF2LVEBZGk
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 28, 2023
With the loss, the Blue Jackets fell to 11-18-7.
Stats
- Shots on Goal: CBJ 29-35 NJD
- Faceoff %: CBJ 48.3-51.7 NJD
- Power play: CBJ 0/3-0/3 NJD
- Giveaways: CBJ 4-7 NJD
- Takeaways: CBJ 7-9 NJD
- Blocked shots: CBJ 23-22 NJD
- Hits: CBJ 25-16 NJD
-
5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
- Expected Goals (xG): CBJ 1.50-2.77 NJD
- Shot Attempts (CF): CBJ 49-56 NJD
- Shots on Goal (SF): CBJ 19-25 NJD
- Scoring Chances (SCF): CBJ 23-27 NJD
- High-Danger Chances (HDCF): CBJ 8-10 NJD
Injury Update
- Zach Werenski left the game and did not return after suffering a lower-body injury in the second period.
Columbus defenceman Zach Werenski has left the game after an awkward collision with Ondej Palt. pic.twitter.com/XW1i8pLEmg
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 28, 2023
- Sean Kuraly is day-to-day with an abdominal injury.
- Nick Blankenburg was placed on IR retroactive to Dec. 19 with an upper-body injury. He's listed as day-to-day.
- Patrik Laine is expected to miss six weeks with a clavicle fracture suffered on Dec. 15 and is on IR retroactive to Dec. 14.
- Boone Jenner is on IR and is expected to miss six weeks with a broken jaw he suffered on Dec. 8.
- Adam Boqvist is expected to miss four weeks with a shoulder strain and is on IR retroactive to Dec. 5.
- Jack Roslovic is on IR, and is expected to miss four to six weeks with a broken ankle he suffered on Nov. 12.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets are back at it on Friday when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
The club heads north to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
