Jack Hughes Scores Hat Trick As Devils Beat Blue Jackets 6-3

By Coby Maeir on December 16, 2023 at 9:39 pm
New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes (86) celebrates his second goal of the game with left wing Jesper Bratt (63) during the second period against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
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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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Hughes completed his hat trick when he took the puck from Johnson and scored on the empty net at 19:11.

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.

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