COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Columbus Blue Jackets battled hard but ultimately fell 3-2 to the New Jersey Devils on Monday night, a frustrating loss highlighted by special teams struggles and a failed late comeback.
The Blue Jackets started strong, demonstrating offensive pressure by outshooting the Devils 16-8 in the first period. Despite this effort, the team went down 1-0 after Timo Meier opened the scoring with just one second left on a first-period power play.
Columbus clawed back in the second period when Kirill Marchenko tallied his fourth goal in three games, knotting the score at 8:49 with a breakaway.
However, the team’s ongoing issues with special teams continued to prove costly. Dawson Mercer restored the Devils’ lead at 11:09 of the second period, scoring with only four seconds left in New Jersey’s second power-play opportunity of the game. Both goals allowed by the Blue Jackets were scored by the Devils in the final seconds of power plays. The Blue Jackets special teams unit struggled on the flip side as well, as they failed to score on five chances with a man advantage against the Devils.
After Mercer added an empty-netter to create a two-goal cushion for New Jersey, Dmitri Voronkov pulled Columbus within one with 20 seconds left in regulation. However, the late surge was not enough, and the Blue Jackets could not complete the comeback.
This loss was particularly disappointing as the Blue Jackets dropped their home opener for the fourth straight year. The team’s special teams woes have been significant early this season, having now allowed seven power-play goals on 16 opportunities overall. Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves made 25 saves in the effort.
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