Blue Jackets dealt last-second gut punch after solid effort
The importance for the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena wasn't in the two points the New Jersey Devils stole with 1.4 seconds left to play.
Ryan Graves' last-second winner was a gut-punch for Columbus, but the Devils were the team that needed the two points it delivered.
They kept pace with the Carolina Hurricanes, solidifying their hold on second in the Metropolitan Division, pushed the difference between themselves and the New York Rangers to five points and continued marching toward the playoffs. The Blue Jackets (16-34-4) were more interested in the challenges that a matchup against another top team presented on a night that veteran defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov was scratched to protect his health for trade purposes.
“You get this question sometimes, ‘Well, where's the growth?' ” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. “The growth comes in those games on a Saturday night, and how are you going to handle it against a top 5 team? How do you handle losing? How do you handle adversity? These are the things you don't see in the analytic world or the stats, but there's so much to grow from for all these guys, our older guys and our younger guys.”
The Blue Jackets added another mark to their growth chart on a Tuesday night
DEVILS 3, BLUE JACKETS 2
New Jersey 1 1 1 - 3
Columbus 1 1 0 - 2
FIRST PERIOD: 1. New Jersey, Sharangovich 12 (Haula, Zetterlund), 10:46; 2. Columbus, Gaudreau 15 (Laine, Boqvist), 19:58 (pp). Penalties - Bayreuther, CBJ (interference), 6:17; Haula, NJ (tripping), 18:13.
SECOND: 3. New Jersey, Bratt 21 (Graves, Marino), 0:07; 4. Columbus, Boqvist 1 (Bayreuther, Jenner), 4:41. Penalties - Laine, CBJ (high sticking), 8:39; Tatar, NJ (hooking), 14:17. THIRD: 5. New Jersey, Graves 6 (Mcleod, Palat), 19:58. Penalty Sharangovich, NJ (hooking), 8:11.
Shots on goal: New Jersey 8-12-12 - 32; Columbus 12-7-14 - 33. Power plays: New Jersey 0 of 2; Columbus 1 of 3. Goalies: New Jersey, Vanecek 23-5-3 (33 shots-31 saves); Columbus, Merzlikins 6-15-0 (32-29). A: 15,840. T: 2:20.
against the Devils (35-13-3), who routed Columbus 7-1 on Oct. 30 in New Jersey. That was a humiliating afternoon, as the Devils outshot the Blue Jackets 53-21 and poured it on against a sluggish, overmatched opponent.
This was a different story. This one carried meaning for the Blue Jackets right up to Graves' winning goal that left them stunned and stung.
It was about carrying over the final two periods of a stirring 4-3 victory on Saturday in Toronto, which was accomplished in front of 15,840. It was about goalie Elvis Merzlikins (29 saves) continuing his turnaround with another solid effort. It was about forging ahead with Gavrikov in street clothes and Gavin Bayreuther returning to the lineup in his place.
It was about living up to a new standard of expectation for the beleaguered Blue Jackets, who have 28 games left to build some sort of foundation for the next few years.