Blue Jackets Lose 4-3 in OT to Devils After Conceding Multiple Third-Period Leads

By Coby Maeir on December 27, 2023 at 9:51 pm
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) makes a save on New Jersey Devils center Dawson Mercer (91) during the second period at Prudential Center.
Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
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Despite having three separate leads, the Blue Jackets lost 4-3 to the New Jersey Devils in overtime at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Wednesday.

1st Period

  1 2 3 OT F
BLUE JACKETS 1 1 1 0 3
NJ DEVILS 1 0 2 1 4

Jake Bean opened the scoring at 6:39 when he fired the rebound from Alexandre Texier's shot past Vitek Vanacek from the right circle.

After exiting the penalty box, Ondrej Palat received a nice drop pass from Erik Haula and tied the score from the slot at 9:55.

The clubs were tied at one after the first period with Columbus taking a 9-8 advantage in shots on goal into the second period.

2nd Period

Elvis Merzlikins kept the game tied with an unreal pad save on Dawson Mercer at 2:51. 

Mathieu Olivier nearly gave the Blue Jackets the lead at 6:15 when he deflected a shot from the point and was denied again on the rebound from the right doorstep.

Justin Danforth put Columbus ahead at 8:28 when he re-directed David Jiricek's shot past Vanecek after Adam Fantilli set up Jiricek.

Texier nearly doubled the Columbus lead at 18:35 when Cole Sillinger set him up in front of the net, but he hit the post.

The Blue Jackets led 2-1 after the second period while trailing 18-17 in shots on goal.

3rd Period

Emil Bemstrom had a solid chance to give the Blue Jackets a two-goal lead at 9:59 after he received a wonderful pass from Kent Johnson, but couldn't score from the right doorstep.

After killing off a penalty, the Blue Jackets conceded the game-tying goal when Dawson Mercer wired a wrist shot from the high slot past Merzlikins at 15:51.

Yegor Chinakhov gave the Blue Jackets the lead at 17:34 after Jonas Siegenthaler fumbled the puck in the neutral zone, leading to a Chinakhov breakaway.

Luke Hughes tied the game at 18:35 with an end-to-end goal that saw him weave through multiple Blue Jackets defenders. 

 

 

The teams were tied at three after regulation with New Jersey leading 33-28 in shots on goal.

Overtime

After Johnson fanned on a shot from the high slot, Timo Meier scored on a breakaway to win it for New Jersey.

With the loss, the Blue Jackets fell to 11-18-7.

Stats

  • Shots on Goal: CBJ 29-35 NJD
  • Faceoff %: CBJ 48.3-51.7 NJD
  • Power play: CBJ 0/3-0/3 NJD
  • Giveaways: CBJ 4-7 NJD
  • Takeaways: CBJ 7-9 NJD
  • Blocked shots: CBJ 23-22 NJD
  • Hits: CBJ 25-16 NJD
  • 5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
    • Expected Goals (xG): CBJ 1.50-2.77 NJD
    • Shot Attempts (CF): CBJ 49-56 NJD
    • Shots on Goal (SF): CBJ 19-25 NJD
    • Scoring Chances (SCF): CBJ 23-27 NJD
    • High-Danger Chances (HDCF): CBJ 8-10 NJD

Injury Update

  • Zach Werenski left the game and did not return after suffering a lower-body injury in the second period.
  • Sean Kuraly is day-to-day with an abdominal injury.
  • Nick Blankenburg was placed on IR retroactive to Dec. 19 with an upper-body injury. He's listed as day-to-day.
  • Patrik Laine is expected to miss six weeks with a clavicle fracture suffered on Dec. 15 and is on IR retroactive to Dec. 14.
  • Boone Jenner is on IR and is expected to miss six weeks with a broken jaw he suffered on Dec. 8.
  • Adam Boqvist is expected to miss four weeks with a shoulder strain and is on IR retroactive to Dec. 5.
  • 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 at it on Friday when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.

The club heads north to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.

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