The Columbus Blue Jackets had their home opener Monday night in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,627 at Nationwide Arena. Although they played well at points, their special teams ultimately let them down.
Dawson Mercer scored two goals, including an empty-netter that proved to be the winning goal. Jake Allen and Jacob Markstrom combined to stop 31 of 33 for lifts the New Jersey Devils to a 3-2 victory over the Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets look back on missed opportunities in this match.
Summary of the game
The Blue Jackets stormed out of the gate. They dominated the first period in possession and shooting. They got six minutes of power play time in the first twelve minutes of the game and came away with nothing.
Despite Dougie Hamilton’s double minor for high-sticking and Brett Pesce’s hooking minor, Allen kept the Blue Jackets off the scoreboard. He stopped all 16 shots in the first period.
With Adam Fantilli in the penalty area, Timo Meier opened the scoring with just one second left on the power play. He hit a shot from the circle that beat Jet Greaves.
The Devils and Blue Jackets traded goals in the second period. Kirill Marchenko scored his fourth goal in two games by stripping Jack Hughes of the puck and converting on a breakaway.
Less than three minutes later and with Cole Sillinger in the penalty area, Mercer scored his first of the evening with just four seconds left. The Blue Jackets had a 3-on-1 rush that was stopped before the Devils took away the other. Arseny Gritsyuk found Mercer for the 2-1 lead.
Allen had to leave the game after the second period due to cramps. Markstrom came in and only allowed a late goal from Dmitri Voronkov with just 21 seconds left.
The Blue Jackets are 1-2-0 this season and have allowed just one 5-on-5 non-empty goal in that time. Meanwhile, they have now allowed seven power-play goals in fourteen chances.
The difference in the game? The Blue Jackets went 0-of-5 on their power play and 0-of-2 on their penalty kill. This is despite the Blue Jackets’ Jack Hughes having zero shots on goal and holding Nico Hischier to one shot. Think about last season. Hughes had thirteen shots on target in one match.
The Blue Jackets have Tuesday off and return to practice Wednesday morning ahead of their game against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. After a three-game road trip that saw them go 2-1, the Devils will have their home opener on Thursday night when they host the defending champion Florida Panthers.
#Blue #Jackets #failed #special #teams #loss #Devils #Hockey #Writers #Columbus #Blue #Jackets #Latest #news #analysis