The New Jersey Devils defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on New Year’s Eve, dramatically snapping a four-game losing skid. The Devils saw some familiar problems in the first and second periods, consisting of missed opportunities and brief mishaps that ended up in their net. Nonetheless, they rallied for an inspired third period that the team desperately needed heading into the new year. With the win, the Devils improved to 21-17-2 while the Blue Jackets dropped to 17-16-6.

Game Recap

Period One

It was a slow start to the game, with both teams tossing a few shots on net, but nothing dangerous.

The Devils got the first good look of the contest when Jack Hughes snuck behind Columbus’ defense for a breakaway that Jet Greaves fought off.

The puck went the other way, and the Blue Jackets opened the scoring at 6:18, after a failed clearing attempt and a shot from distance created a rebound for Mason Marchment at the net front. Kirill Marchenko and Dysin Mayo had the assists.

The Devils had some zone time, but rang a shot off the post as the struggle for offense persisted. New Jersey had another chance with the puck loose in front of the blue paint, but they couldn’t get a stick on it.

With just under five minutes to play, the Devils went to the penalty kill after Dougie Hamilton was called for tripping. They successfully killed it off.

The shots were even at 10 apiece in the opening period.

Period Two

New Jersey had a few chances early in the period, but couldn’t get anything to go. The goalies at either end of the ice were strong as the teams exchanged rush chances.

The Devils had a rush chance that was blocked, and Columbus responded with a shot off an odd-man rush that Jake Allen saved.

Hamilton went back to the box for a second tripping call, but the Devils came up with a big kill to keep the deficit to one. During the kill, Dawson Mercer dished a cross-crease pass to Nico Hischier, but the shot went wide.

Columbus scored at 13:41, just after the kill, with Charlie Coyle putting the puck into a nearly empty net, after another Blue Jacket wiped out Allen. Boone Jenner and Cole Sillinger had the assists.

The Devils reviewed for goaltended interference, seeing as a Blue Jacket was on top of Allen in the crease, but decided not to challenge.

Jack Hughes caught Columbus in a change and had a chance off the rush, but it was fought off by Greaves.

The Devils were outshot 18-12 in the frame.

Period Three

The Devils got their first power play of the night early in the third after Colton White was hooked. Right off the faceoff, New Jersey got on the board at 2:49, with a wrist shot from the blue line by Luke Hughes that Hischier redirected to light the lamp. Jack Hughes added a secondary assist.

The Devils tied the contest less than a minute later with a nice snap shot by Arseny Gritsyuk off a dish from Timo Meier at 3:44. Jonas Siegenthaler had a secondary assist.

New Jersey was on its game and created two more chances right in the blue paint that had Greaves sprawling.

Off another faceoff, the Devils went to work and cashed in to grab their first lead of the game at 4:45, courtesy of Luke Hughes. Connor Brown and Ondrej Palat tallied the assists.

New Jersey was dominant in the first half of the final frame. Columbus got its first shot of the period just seconds before the midway point of the third, while the Devils had amassed eight, three of which resulted in goals.

Cody Glass and Dmitri Voronkov tangled behind Allen and eventually fought, with Glass getting the takedown.

The Devils were tagged for interference with under five to go, setting up a crucial third penalty kill. New Jersey finished off the kill without allowing a shot. Additionally, Hischier had a great shorthanded chance off a partial breakaway, but the puck was snagged out of the air by Greaves.

The Blue Jackets pulled Greaves in favor of the extra attacker. Gritsyuk just missed the empty net from center ice, but it didn’t matter as Allen came up huge to hold Columbus off in the dying seconds.

The Devils were outshot 33-35 in the winning effort.

Takeaways

Game of Threes

After a lackluster 40 minutes, the Devils exploded in the third period. Kicked off by a power play tally, New Jersey notched three goals in just 1:56 to not only erase their deficit, but grab the lead, which they didn’t relinquish.

Luke Hughes, in particular, stepped up for his team in the final frame. On the power play, he perfectly placed his shot to hit Hischier’s stick for the redirection goal. Less than two minutes later, he sniped a beautiful pass by Brown into the top corner of the net, a tally that served as the game winner for New Jersey.

Additionally, the Devils had three big penalty kills against Columbus, a necessary bounce back after allowing one (essentially two) power play goals on three attempts against the Toronto Maple Leafs the previous night.

New Jersey’s penalty kill has struggled in the past weeks, but it looked much better against the Blue Jackets. The third kill, late in the third period with the Devils defending a 3-2 lead, was especially impressive. The Devils were able to shut down any offense the Blue Jackets tried to generate, not allowing a single shot during the two minutes and stymying any momentum Columbus could have gained.

New Year’s Resolutions

The Devils need to bottle up their third-period effort against the Blue Jackets and carry it with them into the new year. Their game was reinvented from the previous periods and games, and the results came with the increased pace of play.

It was revealed that Connor Brown spoke during the second intermission to spur his team into action. Evidently, his message was well received.

The Devils came out flying and quickly drew a penalty. On the power play goal, they got traffic in front of Greaves, taking away his line of sight. Additionally, the execution of their set play was quick and precise, giving Columbus no time to react.

On the second goal, the Devils turned their defense into offense, eliminating a chance for the Blue Jackets and quickly transitioning up ice, where Meier found Gritsyuk, who fired a beautiful shot from the top of the far circle. Their speed on the play was noticeable, as they flew through the neutral zone with complete control of the puck.

The final goal was the result of tenacity, work ethic, and a refusal to be denied in multiple puck battles along the boards. Palat and Brown did excellent work to hold the zone and hound the puck, drawing numerous Blue Jackets players into the corner and allowing Luke Hughes to set up with open ice.

The speed, tenacity, precision, and overall control of the puck in the third period were just what the doctor ordered for New Jersey, and if they can carry the play from their final 20 minutes of 2025 into 2026, they are primed to win many more games.

Up Next

The Devils kick off the new year on Saturday, when they take on the Utah Mammoth at the Prudential Center.

The Mammoth sit 5th in the Central Division with an 18-19-3 record, and are 4-6-0 in their past ten contests. Most recently, the lost 4-3 to the Nashville Predators on Monday night.

This is the second and final meeting of the season between the Devils and Mammoth. The Devils took the first contest 2-1 on December 19th. Utah will play the New York Islanders on New Year’s Day, before traveling to New Jersey for Saturday’s faceoff.

Puck drop is set for 3:00 p.m. EST on Utah16 and MSGSN.

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