After CBJ wins, we'll give three takeaways about what stood out or what we'll remember from the Blue Jackets victory.
1. Elvis Merzlikins shut down the Hughes brothers.
Jack and Luke Hughes are certainly the types of talent in this league that can take over a game and be a nightmare for the opposition.
This was the type of game that seemed primed for them to do so. The brothers combined for 19 shots on goal, including many of New Jersey's best chances of the night, but only got on the scoresheet with less than three minutes remaining in regulation when Luke finally got on the board.
The brothers were shut down in large part because of the efforts of Elvis Merzlikins. He turned away the first 40 shots he faced in this game before giving up a pair of 6-on-5 goals.
“They're a really great team and those were hard shots,” Merzlikins said after making a season high in saves. “Might have been a little lucky on a couple of them, but it still feels good.”
His teammates were quick to praise the goalie for his efforts tonight, with Zach Werenski saying Merzlikins was a big reason the Blue Jackets earned two points against the Devils in a game they were outshot 42-20.
“He was awesome tonight,” Werenski said. “Obviously, if it wasn't for the saves he made and how dialed in he was, it probably could be a different outcome. I like the way we played, but I like the way he played even more.”
Werenski also believes that when Merzlikins plays that way, it gives the rest of the team belief; when they see him making big saves, they are able to generate more offense.
“I think when he's making those saves and we’re playing right in front of them, it's a lot of confidence for us,” Werenski said.
While Merzlikins stopped all but two shots against, there were some that stood out more than others, as he made three sprawling stops on the Hughes brothers that could be seen on ESPN tomorrow morning.
“He kept us in there at times and made timely saves, big saves, highlight-reel ones that I'm sure we'll see a lot of,” Monahan said.
2. Nationwide Arena remains a fortress for the Jackets.
It is no secret the Blue Jackets are a better team in Columbus than away from home. With this win, they improved to 9-4-3 at Nationwide Arena on the season, while on the road their record is 4-11-2.
However, last week they lost three consecutive home games and as a result treated this game as a must-win to return to their early-season success in Nationwide Arena.
“A few overtime losses here at home games, I feel like we played decent and could have got results, and we didn't,” Werenski said. “When it starts to slide like that, it feels like it's just harder to grab control of. So I feel like this was a huge game for us.”
It was evident just how much the 5th Line can fuel the Blue Jackets on the ice as during the final few minutes of the game when Merzlikins was being peppered with shot attempts, the fans started chanting his name and gave him extra motivation to see out the victory.
“(The crowd) helped me a lot with that cheering," Merzlikins said. "Wspecially knowing that you're doing a good job, it gives you energy,” Merzlikins said.
Even though the fans were chanting Merzlikins’ name in support of his excellent effort, the whole team got a boost from that against the top team in the Eastern Conference standings going into the game.
“Fans (were) huge,” Merzlikins said. “But it's not just for me. I mean even for the team, they were really loud the last couple minutes, and that helped us a lot.”
3. "Monahanov" returns as the top line was reunited for the Blue Jackets.
After playing on the same line together for 11 games from Nov. 15 to Dec. 5, the trio of Monahan centering Russian wings Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko was split up as head coach Dean Evason shook things up temporarily.
However, the three forwards were back together against the Devils and picked up right where they left off.
“We've played together enough where the chemistry is still there,” Monahan said. “It's fun to be back with them. We got a few decent looks, and we gotta try to build off that.”
Monahan recorded a three-point night including a pair of goals while the other two members of the top line got on the scoresheet as well, with Marchenko posting two assists – including his 100th career point – and Voronkov adding an assist of his own.
The Jackets’ first-line center has earned every right to be a prominent member of Evason’s team and continues to earn more trust each game.
“Every opportunity we have to put him on the ice, with (Werenski) on the back end, we want him on the ice," Evaon said. "He does all the right things. He's a key player, obviously.”
The “honorary Russian” – or as Marchenko calls him, “Monahanov” – joked postgame that he is “slowly” picking up some Russian as he has played with the pair for so many games.
