Devils tie it late, defeat Blue Jackets in OT

Timo Meier scored at 2:12 of overtime, and the New Jersey Devils rallied to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Wednesday.

After Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson fanned on a shot at the top of the slot, Meier collected the puck and scored on a breakaway.

“We’ve got a lot of skill on our team,” Meier said. “If we work and stay patient that skill is going to take over. That’s going to make a difference, but we’ve got to be disciplined and also play simple games.”

Luke Hughes tied it 3-3 for New Jersey at 18:35 of the third period, scoring from the top of the slot on an end-to-end rush with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker. That came after Yegor Chinakhov put Columbus ahead 3-2 at 17:34 following a turnover by Jonas Siegenthaler near New Jersey's blue line.

“It’s out of my speed level, I’ll tell you that,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said of Hughes’ goal. “When you see that you start thinking of some of the great skating defensemen. You have to combine [Brian] Leetch, I think of Paul Coffey. You automatically start thinking of other guys that could get up ice, and he did that a couple of times where he really showed a burst. An incredible goal.”

Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent was also impressed.

“That kid was skating. He was coming in hot,” he said. “We got caught in a change so it left a hole in the neutral zone, and he took advantage of it.”

Dawson Mercer had a goal and two assists, Ondrej Palat scored, and Vitek Vanecek made 26 saves for the Devils (18-13-2).

Jake Bean and Justin Danforth scored, and Elvis Merzlikins made 31 saves for the Blue Jackets (11-18-7).

“We couldn’t hold them off a couple of times here,” Columbus defenseman Damon Severson said. “We had a couple of shots at it and even in overtime we had a couple of shots to end it, so I don’t think we can be too upset with our game tonight.”

Bean gave Columbus a 1-0 lead at 6:39 of the first period, putting in the rebound of Brendan Gaunce's shot for his second goal of the season. He hadn’t scored in 31 games since getting a goal in the season opener Oct. 12.

Palat tied it 1-1 on a rush at 9:55, nine seconds after his high-sticking penalty ended.

Danforth put the Blue Jackets ahead 2-1 at 8:28 of the second period by tipping in a shot from David Jiricek.

Mercer tied it 2-2 at 15:51 of the third with a one-timer from the high slot off a pass by Simon Nemec.

“It’s a really important two points,” Meier said. “I think the way we played, not great at all. We didn’t play our best game, but at the end there [Mercer] scored a nice snipe and Luke with his solo lap there, unbelievable shot, so we found a way to win. That’s the most important thing.”

NOTES: Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski left at 9:02 of the second period with a lower-body injury after getting tangled with Palat. Vincent said Werenski would be evaluated in Columbus on Thursday and had no further update. … Severson was minus-1 in 23:03 of ice time in his first game against the Devils since they traded him to the Blue Jackets on June 9. He played his first nine NHL seasons for New Jersey, getting 263 points (58 goals, 205 assists) in 647 games. … In his 28th game, Devils center Jack Hughes had an assist to become the fastest player in franchise history to reach 40 points (14 goals, 26 assists) in a season. Zach Parise previously held the record at 31 games (2008-09). … New Jersey defenseman Brendan Smith played forward in place of Curtis Lazar (lower body, day to day). Smith was minus-2 in 9:06. … New Jersey defenseman Colin Miller returned after missing three games for the birth of his first child. He had two shots on goal and was plus-1 in 12:15.