Thanks to Jack Hughes' hat trick, the New Jersey Devils beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 at Nationwide Arena on Saturday in the teams' second meeting of the season.
1st Period
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| NJ DEVILS | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
After Johnny Gaudreau turned the puck over to Tyler Toffoli in the Blue Jackets' defensive zone, Toffoli found Hughes, who beat Daniil Tarasov with a backhand shot from the doorstep at 0:47.
#NJDevils J. Hughes goal pic.twitter.com/8GmjkYDwcm
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 17, 2023
The Devils doubled their lead at 16:21 when Dawson Mercer found Erik Haula with a backhand cross-ice feed from the right doorstep to the left circle where Haula was wide open and scored.
#NJDevils Haula goal pic.twitter.com/JjjrNHl0hp
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 17, 2023
New Jersey led 2-0 after the first period and took an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal into the second frame.
2nd Period
Kirill Marchenko cut the New Jersey lead in half on the power play at 0:17 from the slot when he fired Gaudreau's feed past Akira Schmid. With that assist, Gaudreau recorded his 700th-career point.
Gaudreau (13) emerges from a scrum behind the net with the puck and finds Marchenko (86) who scores from the slot. #NJDevils 2-1 #CBJ pic.twitter.com/jwvnbFFACT
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 17, 2023
Toffoli doubled the Devils' lead again at 0:50 with he wired a shot past Tarasov after receiving a pass from Jesper Bratt, who was able to enter the zone after Nick Blankenburg fell down in the neutral zone.
#NJDevils Toffoli goal pic.twitter.com/L3AX7ZezoW
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 17, 2023
Yegor Chinakhov cut the New Jersey lead in half at 8:38 with his fifth goal in his last four games when he threw a wrist shot from the point that somehow bounced its way past Schmid.
#CBJ Marchenko (11) goal pic.twitter.com/9dhrQAjr9t
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 17, 2023
Hughes scored his second of the night on a four-on-three power play at 14:54 when he fired a righ-circle blast past Tarasov.
#NJDevils J. Hughes goal pic.twitter.com/9ZKuLncHeZ
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 17, 2023
New Jersey led 4-2 after 40 minutes and carried a 21-16 advantage in shots on goal into third period.
3rd Period
After he was the lone skater back and successfully halted a Devils rush, Kent Johnson's clearing attempt was intercepted at the blueline, directly leading to Nico Hischier scoring a one-timer from the right circle at 2:50.
#NJDevils Hischier goal pic.twitter.com/A2DbsMnXbx
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 17, 2023
Alexandre Texier scored at 18:55 to make it a 5-3 game at six-on-four with a wrist shot from the slot thanks to a feed from Adam Fantilli.
Alexandre Texier puts another on the board. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/FCc1J9yHUh
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) December 17, 2023
Hughes completed his hat trick when he took the puck from Johnson and scored on the empty net at 19:11.
JACK. HUGHES. HAT. TRICK. pic.twitter.com/YyUOOOzaFw
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 17, 2023
With the loss, the Blue Jackets fell to 10-17-5.
Stats
- Shots on Goal: NJD 30-26 CBJ
- Face-off %: NJD 58.8-41.2 CBJ
- Power play: NJD 1/2-1/4 CBJ
- Giveaways: NJD 5-3 CBJ
- Takeaways: NJD 5-3 CBJ
- Blocked shots: NJD 12-15 CBJ
- Hits: NJD 9-8 CBJ
-
5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
- Expected Goals (xG): NJD 2.27-1.48 CBJ
- Shot Attempts (CF): NJD 45-36 CBJ
- Shots on Goal (SF): NJD 24-17 CBJ
- Scoring Chances (SCF): NJD 23-16 CBJ
- High-Danger Chances (HDCF): NJD 11-9 CBJ
Injury Update
- Patrik Laine is expected to miss six weeks with a clavicle fracture (From 12/15).
- Adam Boqvist is expected to miss four weeks with a shoulder strain and is on IR retroactive to Dec. 5.
- Damon Severson is expected to miss six weeks with an oblique injury and is on IR retroactive to Nov. 19.
- Boone Jenner is on IR and is expected to miss six weeks with a broken jaw he suffered on Dec. 8.
- Jack Roslovic is on IR and is expected to miss four to six weeks with a broken ankle he suffered on Nov. 12
Next Up
The Blue Jackets are back in action on Tuesday in Buffalo when they take on the Sabres at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
The club returns home to Nationwide Arena and hosts the Washington Capitals on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
