Columbus Blue Jackets VS. New Jersey Devils: Game Summary

1st Period

Dec 10, 2013; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Cam Atkinson (13) celebrates a goal against the New Jersey Devils during the second period at Nationwide Arena. Photo by: Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports

Tonight’s game got off to a very early start for the Devils when Travis Zajac found the net just 32 seconds into the game.  The first half of the first period, the Devils had Columbus on their heels.  New Jersey looked well rested and ready to go, as they were fast, peppering the net with shots and controlling the game.

A highlight in the first period came on the first shot on goal (which took 7 minutes and 30 seconds), when Cam Atkinson scored when his own rebound bounced off of his leg, and slipped past Martin Brodeur.

There was one penalty in the period, putting the Devils on the power play, which the Blue Jackets killed.  After that power play, the Jackets had killed off 14 of their last 15 penalties.

At the mid-way point of the first, Michael Ryder once again put New Jersey in the lead 2-1, when he slipped one past Curtis McElhinney.

2nd Period:

Dec 10, 2013; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky (17) celebrates a goal against the New Jersey Devils during the second period at Nationwide Arena.

Photo By: Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports

The beginning of the 2nd period looked as if nothing had changed during the intermission.  Very quickly, the Devils struck gold again off the stick of Damien Brunner, making the score 3-1.

At that moment, everything seemed to change.  The team started to show energy.  They cleaned up their passes, started crashing the net.  This change in mentality led to a goal by Brandon Dubinsky, which brought the score to 3-2.

Only a minute later, Cam Aktinson once again scored on Brodeur with an assist by Dubinsky, evening the score at 3.

3rd Period:

Dec 10, 2013; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Nick Foligno (71) stick handles into the New Jersey Devils zone during the second period at Nationwide Arena.

Photo By: Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports

The third period started in the same fashion the second ended, with a fast-paced show of force by the Blue Jackets.   Only 18 seconds into the period, Matt Calvert scored his first goal of the game, putting the Jackets up 4-3.

An early penalty to Nikita Nikitin forced the Jackets to kill another penalty, which made 10 penalty kills in a row.

New Jersey certainly changed the momentum in the middle of the third, hammering away at the Jackets net.  This pressure eventually led to a Damien Brunner goal, tying the game up at 4.

With only a minute left, Ryan Johansen fired the puck in front of Brodeur and the puck bounced off of the skate of Nick Foligno right into the net.  This would end up being the game winning goal, putting Columbus up 5-4.

Overview:

Before the game, both coaches stated that this was going to be a low-scoring defensive affair, and it was anything but. The Blue Jackets have now won their last 4 home games.