The New Jersey Devils (46-19-8) faced off with the Columbia Blue Jackets (24-46-8) at the Rock on Thursday night. The Devils outclassed and proved to be overwhelming for the Blue Jackets defeating them, 8-1. While the Devils move one step closer to controlling the Metro East division and securing home ice, the focus was on star player Jack Hughes. Prior to this game, Hughes needed six points to tie the record and seven points to break it. Going forward, Hughes will continue to chase the record, while also focusing on the bigger picture.
“Yeah of course, the better I do the better the team does,” Hughes states. “I definitely want that record, and I like to break it this year but we’ll see what happens. We’ll have to pick it up for playoffs, we’re getting comfortable with Timo and who wouldn’t be excited to play the Rangers.”
In the first period, the Devils began the game slow and skated with a lack of urgency until the 12-minute mark. That's when the Devils began to play with a bit more urgency and gain momentum. It began with Tomas Tatar finding a crack within the Blue Jackets' defense and drilling a slapshot from center ice to score. Unfortunately, after a challenge by the Blue Jackets, Tatar’s goal was eventually overturned and the goal was stripped from the Devils.
The call appeared to lit a fire under the Devils, which proceeded to only grow as the game progressed. The Blue Jackets looked like they were going to gain momentum, but it was very brief. Hughes answered with a goal of his own to give the Devils the lead on a breakaway goal. Despite having ample opportunities to score, the Devils were unable to capitalize and led 1-0 at the end of the first period.
“We were probably the better team, however I didn’t like the way we started the game,” Devils head coach Lindy Ruff explains. “It was good to see us take advantage of the offense opportunities presented to us.”
Devils Began to Build Momentum
In the second period, the Devils looked to just build on the momentum they built at the end of the first period. Hughes took a step closer to breaking the record in this period. It appeared Tatar took the goal being reversed personally and answered with a goal of his own within the first 20 seconds of the period. The early goals in the second period led to an onslaught.
It was good to see other players who don’t necessarily get an opportunity in close games to help contribute on the scoreboard as well. While the Devils managed to begin putting this game away, they did give up the only Blue Jackets goal of the game, which was won off a challenge by the Blue Jackets.
“I thought there was contact with V’s [Vitek Vanecek] blocker and stick that kind of displaced him from the position he wanted to be in,” Ruff said. “We knew it was going to be a tough call, but I like to way we were killing penalties. … I think our guys made the right call on it and we didn’t win the challenge but we won the game.”
New Jersey Devils are Preparing for the Playoffs
The Devils scored four more goals in the final period. The final takeaway from the game wasn’t the dominant win. Instead, it was how well the team is flowing on the ice and looking playoff ready. In the first round, some believe the Devils are gearing up to take on a talented Rangers team. They will need to be playing at high level to surpass the Rangers.
The Devils face the Boston Bruins this upcoming Saturday. This will prove to be a big test for both teams, as they are looking to head into the playoffs on a high note.
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