Devils 4-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, 1/19/24

January 19, 2024

Devils 4-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, 1/19/24

The New Jersey Devils defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Nationwide Arena on Friday, January 19th. The Devils were behind in the first period, the Blue Jackets leading with one goal. The game changed in the four-goal second period and the Devils won with a great 4-1 score - this was a good win for New Jersey after their two losses straight against the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens January 15th-17th.

Devils lineup against the Blue Jackets:

Toffoli - Hischier - Bratt

Meier - McLeod - Mercer

Haula - Lazar - Bastian

Willman - Tierney - Holtz

Marino - Nemec

Hughes - Miller

Bahl - Foote

Vanecek

Daws

Blue Jackets lineup against the Devils:

Gaudreau - Sillinger - Chinakhov

Fantilli - Jenner - Roslovic

Johnson - Voronkov - Marchenko

Texier - Kuraly - Danforth

Severson - Boqvist

Provorov - Peeke

Bean - Gudbranson

Merzlikins

Tarasov

The first period was a one-goal period - Cole Sillinger gave Columbus a 1-0 lead, coming from a back pass between the legs of Yegor Chinakhov and the left circle. Sillinger has had seven goals in the past 13 games.

John Marino ties up the game just 28 seconds into the middle frame with his third goal of the season. Alexander Holtz doubled it and gave the Devils the lead with a tip-in shot. Nico Hischier strikes his 12th of the season with 6:29 remaining in the second period. Nate Bastian was present at the front of the Blue Jackets net, getting a tip-in goal for the Devils fourth of the game.

The Columbus Blue Jackets pushed in the third period - seven shots in the first four minutes, Vitek Vanecek kept them out and even a goal that ended up being determined offsides late in the final frame. The Devils stayed strong through the remainder of the game, keeping their three-goal lead and getting the 4-1 win.

Notes:

- This game marks the 30th time the New Jersey Devils gave up the opening goal of the game this season.

- Vitek Vanecek had a 28-save night on 29 shots

- This was the fourth time this season that the Devils put up four or more goals on their opponent

- Kevin Bahl picked up his sixth assist of the season, assisting Nate Bastian's goal

- Cal Foote earned his first point of the year with a primary assist, assisting Alexander Holtz

- Boone Jenner returned to the Blue Jackets lineup after being out for the past 15 games due to a fractured jaw - St. Louis, December 8th

"Just stick with it. I think we didn't play bad in the first period. We had a lot of shots, we had some opportunities to score. We know it's a sixty-minute hockey game and just stick with it." Nico Hischier spoke about his thoughts on how the Devils played in the first period, being behind but not playing bad.

Nico Hischier on the third period: "I think we just played really smart - We stayed above, we had to lead. We didn't play any risky passes and just played smart last period."

John Marino on the Devils not having the opening goal: "We're been doing that, unfortunately, for the whole year. We had a lot of chances - we just weren't able to score but have that resilience and kind of stick with it."