Devils Solidify Playoff Hopes with Pivotal Win at Columbus | GAME STORY

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Devils further solidified their chase for a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a pivotal win on the road against Columbus, a team chasing them in the Metro Division standings, following a 2-1 victory at Nationwide Arena on Monday night.

Timo Meier and Jesper Bratt scored 39-seconds apart in the second period. That stood as enough because goalie Jake Allen made 45 saves in the contest.

The Blue Jackets ended Allen’s shutout bid on a late third-period goal by Mathieu Olivier.

The Devils controlled play in the opening two periods, but were hemmed in their own zone during the third, but were able to survive. Columbus had 23 shots in the third period.

"We won, that's all that matters," Allen said. "We don't want to be under that much duress. They're a desperate team and they threw everything they could at the net and we would have been doing the same thing in that situation. It wasn't pretty. But we found a way to get it done. That's all that matters right now."

"It's really ugly. But guys have to compete. Guys are working hard, they're tired, they're giving it all they have," head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "A desperate opponent coming at us. They're real aggressive, lots of pressure. Hard to make tape-to-tape passes in that environment so you're under siege. Goaltending was terrific by Jake Allen, and the guys, despite giving one up, the bend-don't-break mentality."

The Devils have defeated Columbus twice in the past seven days to really create some separation in the standings.

"It's hard to beat a team twice in a row. We played these guys twice in a week," Keefe said. "Coming into their building, we knew this was going to be a tough game. It was going to take some mental toughness and competitiveness, but intelligence at the same time.

"Overall, I thought the guys were very committed to the task at hand and earned full marks for the two points."

The victory gives the Devils a 10-point lead on Columbus and all but eliminates the Jackets ability to overtake New Jersey in the Metro Division race. It also gives the Devils an eight-point cushion on the NY Rangers.

Here are some observations from the game:

• Jake Allen was brilliant in net for the Devils. His best save came early in the third period when Yegor Chinakhov found open ice in the slot and was denied by Allen. He also stopped Zach Aston-Reese in the final five minutes to keep it a 2-1 game.

But an underrated aspect of his game was Allen’s ability to play the puck. The Blue Jackets had a lot of dumped pucks. Allen was able to field those, make the proper read and then execute on passes to allow the Devils to exit the zone and kill any offensive zone time for Columbus.

• The Devils have won four of their last five games and responded to a tough 7-3 loss in Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon.

“It was a gutsy win,” Allen said. “To be able to rebound after not a great game there in Pitt, to be ablet o head back home with some momentum. We have a three-game homestand. It’s exciting to be back in front of our fans and get to it.”

• The Devils scored the all-important first goal thanks to a tremendous breakout. Nico Hischier threw a quick backhand pass from inside the defensive blue line to Stefan Noesen in the neutral zone. Noesen one-touch passed the puck to a streaking Meier. The quick touch passing caught Columbus defenseman Dante Fabbro flat-footed. It slowed Fabbro enough to allow Meier to get inside leverage to the goal and he used his size and body position to power to the net. Once he got to the crease he showed some slick hands to pull the puck to his backhand and slide it through the legs of goalie Jet Greaves.

“That’s big-time stuff,” Keefe said of the goal. “He recognized that he’s got the D in transition. Strong and hard to the net, and a big-time finish. That’s what you need. That’s what you’re hoping for. You play a good, patient game and when your opportunity comes you make good on it."

“Quick counterattack,” Meier said. “I saw their D was colliding. I was able to take some space wide, drive it to the net and finish it off.”

• Meier’s goal was his 20^th of the season, giving him seven career 20-goal seasons. Meier has five goals in his last nine games.

“You need your best players to step up for you and that’s a huge goal from Timo," Keefe said.

• Not every goal is going to be a highlight reel. But they all count just the same. Just ask Bratt about his second period tally. Brian Dumoulin dumped the puck into the offensive zone at the red line. Greaves went behind his net to play it, however the puck took an odd bounce and ended up loose in front of the net. Bratt pounced on the puck and shot it into the goal as Greaves was scrambling, unsuccessfully, to get back into the net from below the goal line.

"Sometimes those bounce in," Bratt smiled. Our line did a pretty good job of creating scoring chances. I definitely had some good looks before. Sometimes you get those and you have to put those in too."

• Bratt, the NHL’s Second Star of the Week for last week, is starting off the new week strong. Bratt’s goal extended his point streak to four games and 10 points (3g-7a). It also marked his 20^th goal of the season and 80^th point. Bratt has four consecutive 20-goal seasons and two straight 80-point campaigns.

• Cody Glass added an assist in the game. He now has five points (2g-3a) in five games with the Devils since being acquired at the trade deadline.