A heart-breaker.
The Blue Jackets outshot the Devils and Johnny Gaudreau scored his 15th goal of the season but New Jersey scored with less than two seconds in regulation to beat Columbus 3-2 on Tuesday at Nationwide Arena.
1st Period
The Blue Jackets had the game's first big chance at 2:26 when Jack Roslovic found Emil Bemstrom with a saucer pass leading Bemstrom to fire a shot from the left circle that was stopped by Vitek Vanecek.
Yegor Sharangovich opened the scoring at 10:46, giving the Devils a 1-0 lead with a wrist shot from the right circle that beat Elvis Merzlikins' five-hole.
#NJDevils Sharangovich goal pic.twitter.com/bcDkEtHE8z
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) February 15, 2023
The Jackets had another great chance to score after Gaudreau's slap-shot from the top of the circles was stooped, starting an 80-second offensive-zone possession, but Vanecek made the saves necessary.
Gaudreau did get on the board at 19:58 on the power play when he finished a rebound from the right doorstep to tie the game.
#CBJ Gaudreau (15) goal pic.twitter.com/OHtKW5laLP
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) February 15, 2023
The Jackets and Devils were tied at one after the first period with Columbus leading 12-8 in shots on goal.
2nd Period
Jesper Bratt gave the Devils the lead at 0:07 after his team won the period's opening face-off, and John Marino sent Bratt on a breakaway where he beat Merzlikins.
#NJDevils Bratt goal pic.twitter.com/jUWFU81tkW
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) February 15, 2023
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| NJ DEVILS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Columbus tied the game at 4:41 when Adam Boqvist ripped a wrist shot from the high slot over the blocker of Vanecek.
#CBJ Boqvist (1) goal pic.twitter.com/cJncsKvsI5
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) February 15, 2023
Nathan Bastian had a chance to give the Devils the lead at 11:01 with a shot from the slot, but it was blocked by Nick Blankenburg.
The Devils and Jackets were tied at two heading into the third period with New Jersey leading 20-19 in shots on goal.
3rd Period
Kirill Marchenko had the best chance of the period at 14:49 with a shot from the low slot but Vanecek kicked out his left pad to make the save.
Merzlikins made a save of his own at 16:32, denying Erik Haula from the slot on a rebound.
Bratt nearly scored his second goal of the night at 17:13 when a loose puck was sitting on the left doorstep but Merzlikins made the save with his right toe.
Ryan Graves scored from the doorstep at 19:58 after Michael McLeod out-weighted the Jackets' defense and found Graves.
#NJDevils Graves goal pic.twitter.com/pGnNbaV8aH
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) February 15, 2023
The Jackets fell 3-2 and dropped to 16-34-4.
Stats
- Shots on Goal: NJD 32-33 CBJ
- Faceoff %: NJD 46.2-53.8 CBJ
- Power play: NJD 0/2-1/3 CBJ
- Takeaways: NJD 10-5 CBJ
- Giveaways: NJD 1-5 CBJ
- Blocked shots: NJD 11-22 CBJ
- Hits: NJD 13-24 CBJ
-
5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
- Expected Goals (xG): NJD 2.82-1.67 CBJ
- Chances (CF): NJD 71-45 CBJ
- Shots (SF): NJD 31-29 CBJ
- Scoring Chances (SCF): NJD 31-17 CBJ
- High-Danger Chances (HDCF): NJD 13-6 CBJ
Injury Update
No players left tonight's game with injuries.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets conclude their two-game home stand on Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
The club heads on the road to take on the Dallas Stars on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
