Devils fall to Blue Jackets, 2-1

It was another game where the Devils dropped down to just 11 forwards.

At the start of the second period, Jesper Bratt left the game with an injury, forcing New Jersey to play without their top winger against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Devils took the Blue Jackets to overtime after Travis Zajac scored the 1-1 tying goal at the end of the second period. And for the first time since 2015, the Devils and Blue Jackets had a game go to extra time. When the overtime period did not settle the score, the shootout was necessary where Artemi Panarin scored the shootout winner to drop New Jersey 2-1 in the shootout.
Here are 10 takeaways from the game:
1. Another injury has hit the New Jersey Devils - this time it's Nico Hischier who is sitting out a game for New Jersey. Hischier was unable to finish the Devils last game in Boston with an upper-body injury. Hischier is added to a long list of Devils with current injuries and missed his fifth game this season. In his absence as the team's top line center, veteran Travis Zajac took over that role against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
2. Defenseman Sami Vatanen also sat out against the Blue Jackets. He was listed as sick and was unable to participate in morning skate, ruling him out for Tuesday's game. Vatanen had just returned from injury after missing 14 games with a concussion. Vatanen returned just three games ago for New Jersey.
3. With so many injuries keeping several Devils on the sidelines, John Hynes had to ice a lineup that looked very different than the one that started the year for New Jersey. Nine of the Devils 12 forwards against the Blue Jackets have scored less than four goals this season in the NHL.

In addition, of the bottom six forwards only Stefan Noesen has not spent time in the AHL this season. To say the injury bug has bit the Devils is quite an understatement. If you look at both New Jersey's and Columbus' lineups, their combined goal totals show a drastic different. For New Jersey the Tuesday night roster combined for 76 goals this season while Columbus entered the game at 234 goals.
4. Speaking of Noesen, he was back in the Devils lineup after missing 25 straight games due to injury, listed on New Jersey's Injured Reserve list. Noesen returned to the lineup to play alongside Blake Pietila and Kurtis Gabriel where he found himself bumped up to the top line in the second period when Jesper Bratt was unable to play. Noesen played a total of 11:45 with a shot on goal in regulation play.
5. The game against the Columbus Blue Jackets came just over a week after the NHL's Trade Deadline which saw the Devils trade goaltender Keith Kinkaid to Columbus. For the first time, Kinkaid dressed as a visitor at Prudential Center. New Jersey had been the only team Kinkaid played for in his career prior to being traded. This was also the first time he was dressing for Columbus back up Sergei Bobrovsky. In the first television timeout, the New Jersey Devils thanked Kinkaid for his years with the club with a brief tribute video.
Tweet from @NJDevils: Once a 🚧, always a 🚧.Emojis will never be the same without you, @blockaid1. pic.twitter.com/kb6YIX0naU
6. Jesper Bratt was caught with the puck in the foot area on his first shift of the second period, only 56 seconds in the middle frame. Bratt went down on the ice and clearly had difficulty getting up on his two feet. He labored as he made his way to the bench and after consultation on the bench with team trainers, exited the game. He would not return for the night, leaving another hole in the Devils lineup. Bratt had been on a run of 13 points in his last 13 games and nine points in his last eight leading up to hosting Columbus. He finished the night with just 7:52 of ice time.
7. Blake Coleman used a fake shot, turned into a pass to Travis Zajac to help the Devils get on the board in the second period. Coleman made moves to look like he was going to take a shot through traffic, instead he had the awareness to see Zajac streaking down the right side of the ice to catch him with a pass. Bobrovsky had already committed to a Coleman shot, giving Zajac a wide-open net to shoot at as he potted his 15th goal of the year and his 24th point. Zajac's goal tied the game at one at the 17:00 mark of the second period.

8. For Coleman, the assist on Zajac's goal was a benchmark point as he reaches the 30-point range for the first time in his career. With his 12th assist of the year and another 18 goals, the Texas native is at 30 points this season in 63 games played. Last year was his first full season in the NHL where he had 25 points in 79 games with 13 goals and 12 assists.
   9. Devils captain Andy Greene was credited with the secondary assist on Zajac's goal to mark the first time since the 2014-15 NHL season that Greene has reached the 20-point mark in a year. Greene's 16th assist was his 20th point in 66 games played. He reached 22 points in 2014-15 in 82 games. His career high is 37 points, back in the 2009-10 NHL season, his fourth as a Devil.
   10. With so much of the Devils firepower sidelined over the last few weeks, the power play has suffered the consequences. New Jersey are now 0-for-18 on the power play in their last eight games. The last Devils power play goal scored was on February 17th against Buffalo, a second period marker by Jesper Bratt. The Devils went 0-for-2 on the power play against the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.