The Devils tested the Blue Jackets’ toughness. Now they know.

New Jersey got more upset when Sean Monahan tied the game in the ensuing 4-on-4 after that early second period scrum and fight.

So, a couple of shifts later, they threw out their checking line against the top line of the Blue Jackets. Paul Cotter and Connor Brown were both head hunting, no question about it. High hits, interference, jabs…it was all present.

Brown would wind up frustrated that he couldn’t injure anyone with body checks, that he resorted to throwing cross-checks and slashes at anyone within his vicinity. I’d like to see him try that with Mathieu Olivier in the lineup. Spoiler: he wouldn’t.

Still, again, the Devils chose to poke the bear. This time, when the scrum ensued, Fantilli found Siegenthaler and thanked him for pulling his helmet off on the earlier sequence. He did so in the way only hockey players know how to do:

Adam Fantilli and Jonas Siegenthaler continue the extracurriculars in New Jersey 💥 pic.twitter.com/bDFQW1ie8b

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 2, 2025

Again, the Devils were upset that their player wasn’t ready. But my response is: if your guys aren’t ready to fight, maybe they shouldn’t be flying around trying to injure the best players for the other team.

As a result of his jersey not being tied down, Siegenthaler was ejected from the game, leaving the Devils down an entire defense pairing. Dillon would attempt a return, but ultimately he left for good after the second period.

Things only escalated from there. Two shifts later, Timo Meier threw a high hit (note: blatant interference) on Damon Severson, which resulted in another post-whistle skirmish.

Then, Voronkov fought for the second time, taking Stefan Noesen down a couple of times before the Devils forward threw a couple of cowardly punches under the nose of the linesmen.

On the very next shift, Brendan Smith got into his first tilt as a member of the Blue Jackets, wrestling with Cotter behind the CBJ goal. Finally, Sean Monahan and Cody Glass had another skirmish late in the second.

By the time it was all said and done, the teams left the second period tied 2-2, with a combined 70 penalty minutes.

This one could have gone either way. The Jackets, missing a lot of their offense – and their two toughest players – were relatively untested in this kind of game. We just don’t see them that often in the NHL anymore.

Fortunately, they did not back down last night. In fact, they stood in there against the Devils and battled. Every player, to a man, brought something to the table last night.

We almost got the 20-60.

One of our keys to success yesterday was getting all 20 guys to play for 60 minutes. They started slow, but for about 55 minutes of this one, it was a full team effort.

As a result, the Jackets came out and won the third period, outscoring New Jersey 3-1 and ending their four-game losing skid. Tip of the cap to Elvis Merzlikins, who was outstanding down the stretch in this one and earned the post-game Donkey Hat.

Elvis is crowned the Donkey of the Game! 🫏 pic.twitter.com/jS8dILUki3

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) December 2, 2025

Last night’s game was the kind of game this team has been assembled to win. The Devils found that out the hard way.

Now, it’s up to the Jackets to gel as a team and forge ahead. That’s the kind of game that can galvanize a group.