Monday night's game against the New Jersey Devils was exactly the kind of effort the Columbus Blue Jackets needed. This is the kind of game they can really build upon.
After quickly falling to a 2-0 deficit last night, the Blue Jackets fought back against the Devils. Literally.
The Devils came out storming, taking the game over right from the first shift as the weary Blue Jackets struggled to get their legs going. By the time the game was barely 3 minutes old, it was 2-0 for the home team.
If you thought about turning this one off, I don't think anyone would blame you. I almost did. The Jackets did not look interested in competing in this one.
They did find some life in the first, thanks to Denton Mateychuk's first career power-play goal mid-way through the period. A story for another time: can we get this guy more extra man minutes?
As a result, despite the slow start, the Jackets were well within striking distance, down just one goal at the first intermission. Then, all heck broke loose.
A second period to remember...
Last night's powder keg was lit with one play. After Devils goaltender Jake Allen made a save down low, the referees were slow to blow the play dead as he covered the puck.
Adam Fantilli decided he was going to play until the whistle. Likely out of frustration, he gave Allen's pad a poke trying to free the puck up.
The result of that decision was a cross-check to the head from Devils defenseman Brenden Dillon, who was playing in career game #1000 last night. Joining Dillon in response was his defense partner, Jonas Siegenthaler, who ripped Adam's helmet off in the skirmish.
As the scrum was going on, Dmitri Voronkov pulled Dillon from the pile. As he usually does, Big Boss picked the biggest guy out of the crowd to cool things off and protect his teammates.
But a gloved punch to the head from Dillon to Voronkov poked the bear and, well, as they say: the rest is history:
Brendan Dillon has left tonight's game after a scary moment during a fight with Dmitri Voronkov pic.twitter.com/n67Ui10pNG
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 2, 2025
The Devils were upset with the outcome of this fight because Dillon was injured. But the fact of the matter is, their guy threw the first punch, so it's hard to complain about him not being ready. When you punch someone-glove on or not-you are now in a fight. At that point, you lost your claim to squaring up and grabbing hold.
If he never throws that gloved punch, there is no fight here. Voronkov was just looking to tie him up and cool things down. Since the Devils were upset, this was only the beginning. Let's break the rest of this gong show on another slide.