Just as things were turning a corner, they stay the same.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
 |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
|
CBJ GOALS: |
||||
Three third-period goals in 1:56 were the difference as the New Jersey Devils beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on Wednesday night, New Year's Eve, at Nationwide Arena.
Nico Hischier, Arseny Gritsyuk, and Luke Hughes provided the New Jersey offense. Jake Allen made 33 saves.
Mason Marchment and Charlie Coyle scored for Columbus while Jet Greaves made 30 stops.
The Columbus scoring started when Mason Marchment added his 8th goal, fourth for the Blue Jackets, to make it 1-0 in the first period. Charlie Coyle added his sixth in the second period to put the Blue Jackets ahead 2-0. Through 40 minutes of play, the Jackets were dictating the play and looking for a strong finish to end the year on.
Instead, the Devils found their offense in the nick of time after having previously been shut out 4-0 by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.
Hischier's 11th of the year on the Devils' lone power play snapped the shutout bid and ended a scoreless streak of 115:17. Gritsyuk and Hughes added the final two goals shortly after as the Devils had a 3-2 lead 4:45 into the third period, and that score stood up.
"I thought the guys did a great job for the whole night," Greaves said. "It was just frustrating that happens; a few quick goals like that, but again, my job doesn't change. It's just about doing what I can in whatever situation to try to give us a chance, and obviously, there's some things to learn from tonight. But I thought the guys did a really good job responding after that little stretch.
"We had some chances late in the game. Their goalie made some good saves. They got some good blocks, but it's frustrating to come out on the wrong side of it."
Here's how the Blue Jackets lost out on a critical two points:
1st Period:
(6:18 — CBJ Goal): Marchment (8) kept his scoring surge going with his fourth goal since joining the Blue Jackets and is on a five-game point streak (four goals, two assists). Kirill Marchenko added his 17th assist, and Dysin Mayo (1) picked up his first career point with the Blue Jackets.
Marchment with another goal. First #CBJ to have a point in his first five games with the club. Marchenko with an assist. Mayo with his first career CBJ point. pic.twitter.com/I0hlOtOXCX
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 1, 2026
#CBJ Mason Marchment is the third player in franchise history to start his Columbus career with a four-game point streak. The others are Antoine Vermette (2008-09) and Zach Werenski (2016-17).
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) December 31, 2025
Marchment goes for a five-game point streak tonight vs. #NJDevils.
Columbus lost Miles Wood to a lower-body injury in the first period after he lost an edge along the boards. Ondrej Palat was battling for puck possession, and his stick caught Wood's right skate, forcing Wood down awkwardly. Wood had to be helped down the tunnel as he couldn't put weight on his left leg.
2nd Period:
(13:41 — CBJ Goal): Coyle's sixth of the season put Columbus ahead 2-0. Boone Jenner and Cole Sillinger picked up the assists.
Coyle from Jenner and Sillinger. Jenner gets his 400th career point. pic.twitter.com/8oUOuuEhZw #CBJ
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 1, 2026
3rd Period:
(2:49 — NJD Goal): Hischier's power play goal, the Devils' only power play of the game, snapped the shutout bid by Greaves to make things a 2-1 game. The Hughes brothers, Luke (17) and Jack (11), added assists on the goal.
Cap pulls us off the mat. #NJDevils | @Mikes_Amazing pic.twitter.com/7FoHCalGl4
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) January 1, 2026
(3:44 — NJD Goal): Gritsyuk, on a long-range shot, picked up his eighth career goal to tie it up 2-2. Assists went to Timo Meier (13) and Jonas Siegenthaler (3).
Gritsyuk's 8th career goal @ Columbus Blue Jackets pic.twitter.com/6RT3m7zvMn
— daily arseny gritsyuk (@dailygritsyuk) January 1, 2026
(4:45 — NJD Goal): The Devils took the lead and the game on Luke's second point and fourth goal of the season. Connor Brown (8) and Palat (6) got the assists.
i love luke hughes so bad btw pic.twitter.com/9oK7b0l4R7
— ellie dj broke (@SADSOURVSN) January 1, 2026
We thought there might be fights in this game after what happened between these two teams on Dec. 1. Dmitri Voronkov and Cody Glass were the only combatants on this night after the two got into it behind the net in the third period.
| NJD | GAME STATS | CBJ |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | SHOTS | 35 |
| 50.0% | FACEOFFS | 50.0% |
| 1/1 | POWER PLAY | 0/3 |
| 1/1 | PENALTY KILL | 0/0 |
| 17 | HITS | 26 |
| 14 | GIVEAWAYS | 18 |
| 5 | TAKEAWAYS | 8 |
| 11 | BLOCKED SHOTS | 7 |
| ALL SITUATIONS ADVANCED STATS | ||
| 54 | SHOT ATTEMPTS | 72 |
| 18 | SCORING CHANCES | 38 |
| 3 | HIGH-DANGER CHANCES | 18 |
| Data via NHL.com & NaturalStatTrick.com | ||
Stat Chat:
-
Jenner's assist was the 400th point of his career. He's fourth all-time on the Blue Jackets' all-time franchise list, trailing Cam Atkinson (402), Zach Werenski (424), and Rick Nash (547).
-
Marchment became the first Blue Jacket to record a point in each of his first five games with the club.
-
Since Dec. 16, the Blue Jackets' penalty kill is third in the NHL (18-for-20, 90.0%). Entering play, they were first in the league since that date (94.7%).
- Columbus falls to 12-7-1 all-time on New Year's Eve, ending a four-game winning streak on this date.
Up Next:
The Blue Jackets take on the red-hot Buffalo Sabres, winners of 10 straight, at Nationwide Arena on Saturday, Jan. 3, at 3 p.m.
