In the midst of a 1-6-2 stretch, the Blue Jackets are trying to find themselves, and they might have in sunny Florida on Tuesday.
After 40 forgettable minutes left them in a 4-0 hole against Tampa Bay, Columbus fought its way back into the game, scoring three straight times to turn what had been a lopsided affair into a tight contest. Though the Blue Jackets could not complete the comeback in what would go down as a 5-3 loss, it was an encouraging sign that the team may have found its game.
So what changed when the third period began?
“We played hard,” head coach Dean Evason said. “We played with bite. We didn’t play on the end of our sticks. We stuck our noses in there, and we were rewarded for it. We went straight forward. We didn’t look like we were intimidated like we were the first two periods, for whatever reason. We were on our toes, and it showed.”
Or as Adam Fantilli put it, “We came out in the third playing the way we should have been playing the whole game. Down 4-0, it’s kind of embarrassing, especially with what happened out in Carolina (in Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Hurricanes). It’s not great. We wanted to come in here and have a great game. Obviously that wasn’t it from the start, but we didn’t want to go out with that two times in a row. We tried to make it a bit more of a game and try to win it with what we had left in the third.”
In the end, it wasn’t enough, though, and the Blue Jackets left with their fifth straight setback (0-3-2). They will look for that elusive victory against a tough foe tonight as New Jersey comes to town fifth in the NHL in points percentage.
It’ll take a full 60 minutes of consistent hockey to get it done.
“We don’t question how hard our group’s trying to work, but for two periods, there’s no reason why you don’t start that way (we played in the third),” Evason said. “The frustrating part is that we know we can do it, but we’re not doing it on that consistent basis.”
Know The Foe: New Jersey Devils
Head coach: Sheldon Keefe (1st season)
Team stats: Goals per game: 3.35 (7th) | Scoring defense: 2.56 (5th) | PP: 30.1 percent (2nd) | PK: 82.1 percent (8th)
The narrative: The last two years have shown just how precarious the building process can be for a young team. Led by Jack Hughes, the Devils drafted an impressive number of talented players during a stretch that included just one playoff appearance from 2013-22, and it all paid off two seasons ago when New Jersey won 52 games and made it to the second round of the playoffs. Last year, though, injuries and inconsistency doomed the Devils to a seventh-place finish in the Metro. This year, fortunes are up; New Jersey got off to a hot start and hasn’t cooled Keefe’s first season.
Team leaders: One of the most underrated players in the NHL is at it again, as Jesper Bratt leads the squad in scoring and is tied for eighth in the NHL with 42 points, including 14 goals and 28 points. Hughes is back to the form that netted him 99 points two seasons ago, placing right behind Bratt with a 13-28-41 line that ties him for 10th in the league. Nico Hischier adds a team-high 16 goals among his 29 points, Stefan Noesen has tied a career high with 14 goals and Timo Meier has 10 tallies as well.
The biggest improvement for the Devils has come in scoring defense, and a lot of the credit has to go to the new tandem of Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen. Markstrom has started 24 games and is 16-6-2 with a 2.29 GAA and .909 save percentage, while Allen has made the most of his 10 starts (5-4-1, 2.74 GAA and .900 save percentage.
What's new: It isn’t all the goalies, though, as the Devils are third in the NHL in fewest shots allowed per game (25.8) and fifth, per Natural Stat Trick, in goals allowed per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 (2.22). It’s a major credit to Keefe, who was let go in the offseason by Toronto and has overseen a team that has allowed just three goals in the last three games, all wins. The team’s offseason acquisitions have all chipped in, too, as Noesen is having a career year in his return to the Devils, Johnathan Kovacevic and Brett Pesce have solidified the blue line, and Markstrom has been a marked improvement in net.
Trending: It’s the first meeting of the season between Metro rivals, but New Jersey has won six of seven over the past two years, with Columbus finishing 1-2-1 in the series a year ago.
Former CBJ: None
