The Jackets hit a handful of milestones last night:
– Fedor Tyutin played in his 800th NHL game.
– John Tortorella coached his 1000th NHL game, the first time an American-born coach has reached that mark.
– Oliver Bjorkstrand scored his first and second NHL goals. His first would be the game winner.
It was a fine night to be a fan of the Jackets. The opening period was a blast, with the Jackets absolutely dominating play. With Adam Larsson in the box for cross-checking Scott Hartnell, the Jackets would open the scoring. Alexander Wennberg fired a shot on Devils starter Keith Kinkaid, with the rebound going to Bjorkstrand, who fired into the pile. Boone Jenner would get the puck down low, and send it back to Wennberg who then went cross-ice to Cam Atkinson, who wired a deflected shot into the net.
Moments later the Jackets would go up by two goals, this time with Seth Jones blasting a shot from the wall past Kinkaid. The puck was redirected by Larsson en route to the back of the net. Jones surely would like to see his offensive numbers higher, but he’s been terrific since joining the Jackets.
The Devils started the second period with a lot more jump, but the Jackets were able to pot one to go up by three goals. Boone, looking every bit an NHL center, fired an innocent looking shot on-net, beating Kinkaid and chasing him from the game. Yann Danis entered the game in relief.
The Jackets would spend the rest of the second period on their heels. The Devils gained energy from the goaltender change, and thanks to two consecutive bad penalties by Scott Hartnell and Dalton Prout which both resulted in powerplay goals-against, the Devils had all the momentum and the score was 3-2 at the end of the second period.
The Devils would tie the game moments into the third period. Reid Boucher drew the attention of three Blue Jackets in the corner, allowing him to slide the puck toward the front of the net, where Kyle Palmieri was there to score his second goal of the game.
The Jackets would not let the tieing goal get them down.
On the ensuing faceoff, Wennberg made his way down to the goal line, and fired a puck into the slot where Bjorkstrand was there to bang in his first NHL goal. On the very next faceoff, the fourth line came together to give the Jackets another two-goal lead. Gregory Campbell carried the puck up the right wing, finding Michael Chaput by the net. Chaput’s jam shot was stopped, but Campbell slid the loose puck over to William Karlsson, who was there to tap in the backhander.
Bjorkstrand would score again later in the period, showcasing his lethal wrister, and after that would draw a double-minor after taking a stick to the nose. The Jackets did their best to feed the puck to the Dane for the hat trick, but the score would remain the same.
FINAL SCORE: 6-3 Jackets
For the advanced stats for this game, check out War on Ice.
The Jackets complete the home and home with the Devils tomorrow afternoon at 5pm EST.