First Period
– Cory Schneider absolutely robbed Cam Atkinson twice in a row three and a half minutes in—once on a dot-to-dot one-timer shot—and the first thoughts of “Oh no, not this kind of night—began to creep in.
– Stephen Gionta’s stick went high at 6:25 for the game’s first power play. Columbus created some incredible chances, including a David Savard point-blank shot off a Boone Jenner no-look feed to the top of the crease. No score on the PP but…
– …Columbus broke through soon after. Nick Foligno brought the puck into the zone and fed it to Karlsson, who tipped it on Schneider and banged home the rebound for a 1-0 lead 8:51 into the game. Schneider might’ve gotten confused with Karlsson jumping ahead of Matt Calvert on the rush, as evidenced below. John Tortorella absolutely loves Karlsson and it’s hard to argue with this:
– Devils created their best chance going the other way a minute or two later, storming Bobrovsky only to see the puck go wide. Bob looked solid on the play.
– Kyle Palmieri went down around this time, reportedly for a head injury.
– New Jersey earned its first power play with 5:26 left in the period thanks to a Brandon Saad hook. The Devils couldn’t do anything with it, drawing audible consternation from the crowd. Two shots for the Devils in the frame at this point.
– Another Columbus high stick, this time from Dalton Prout with :47.4 left—and it was a four-minute double minor.
– Lot of jump from the visiting Blue Jackets, particularly from the young speeders in Atkinson, Karlsson and Matt Calvert. CBJ led 14-4 in shots heading into the dressing room.
Second Period
– Devils started the period with 3:12 of power play time and a freshly-face caged Kyle Palmieri on the point. New Jersey did virtually nothing with it as the CBJ PK harassed the power play constantly. Foligno and Brandon Dubinsky even turned in a pretty solid forecheck during the kill and Bob made a solid stop late as the Devils tallied two shots on the advantage.
– Good times didn’t last long, though, as New Jersey used an awful sequence from Boone Jenner to tie the game with 16:23 left in the period. Jenner turned the puck over just outside of the CBJ zone for a New Jersey odd-man rush and then stood two inches in front of Bob’s face as Adam Henrique fired a wrister home. 1-1 game.
– HUGE save from Bobrovsky on a breakaway to keep it tied. Bob hadn’t had to do a whole lot prior to the Devils getting their legs back in the second and, if he doesn’t make this stop, momentum would’ve swung firmly back in the Devils end—even more than it already was.
– Mike Cammalleri went off for hooking with 13:30 to go. No shots for Columbus on the ensuing PP (or any for the Blue Jackets this far).
– Oh hey, another Dalton Prout penalty, this time cross-checking (called high-sticking, which kind of makes it worse) Bobby Farnham in front of the CBJ net midway through the period. Not a ton of danger from the Devils…but the Jackets still hadn’t registered a shot.
– Ryan Johansen picked up the CBJ’s first shot of the second period on a backhander with 3:09 left in the frame. Holy moly.
– That said, Jackets went ahead with 1:24 to go, because of course. Cam Atkinson drew iron on a point-blank chance and soon after Calvert cleaned up a loose puck in the crease when an Atkinson shot hit some bodies in front. Hockey’s a funny game and the CBJ got rewarded. 2-1 Columbus.
– Bob made another key save on a goalmouth scramble after the goal to keep things tied. Very solid first two periods for No. 72. Devils hit the post twice more before the period ends with the CBJ ahead, 2-1.
– Apropos of nothing, how about Alex Wennberg’s backchecking ability:
Third Period
– It appeared Dubinsky might’ve batted in a puck soon after the start of the third, but no dice. Schneider got just enough of it to send it a few inches wide.
– Devils found themselves with an unbelievable chance during a 4-on-4 (following coincidental roughings) only to see Damon Severson sent a point-blank shot high. Bob came out to challenge and the defenseman had nowhere to go.
– Soon after the 4-on-4 expired, the Devils pulled Schenider on a delayed penalty and Adam Henrique scored on a perfect feed in front. 2-2 game…only Columbus immediately argued that Gregory Campbell touched the puck enough to stop play. After an officials’ conference, they agreed and called back the goal, saying the whistle should’ve sounded. Never seen that before, and neither had a very loud Ken Daneyko on the Devils feed. Wow. Can imagine how New Jersey fans feel, and it’s not good.
– Here’s an isolated look. I don’t know.
– Oh yeah, there was a penalty on Folingo for hooking. Nothing doing for the Devils PP.
– Cam Atkinson left the game after blocking a shot. Really good game for him and hope he’s OK.
– For pretty much the rest of the game, we saw the nervous onslaught of “other team’s offense” that we’ve grown accustomed to. Devils get 10 shots in the third and the Jackets really didn’t have a ton going late, but it’s enough for a big 2-1 road win.
Quick Thoughts
– That disallowed goal loomed over the rest of the game and will likely be the story, at least from the New Jersey side. Officials told John MacLean it was a judgment call and there’s no reason to disbelieve that, but wow. Linesmen are allowed to voice their opinion to the official and apparently that’s what happened. We’ve seen Columbus come out on the bad end of so many “judgment calls” over the last 15 years, Jackets fans know exactly how that feels. Sorry, Devilbros.
– Columbus has given away more than a few games this year and tonight felt like one they took. Take the second period, for example. No shots until the final three minutes and they come away with a game-winning goal? It’s also hard to think of many chances they blew or should’ve had, and quite a few come up for New Jersey. A win is a win and you earn every one you get in the NHL, and the Jackets will come home with two points.
– New Jersey went 0/5 on the power play.
– Bob played like Bob, coming up with big save after big save and really winning the game for the Jackets. New Jersey’s only goal (that counted, at least) was not his fault by any stretch. Not sure if he’ll start both games this weekend, though you certainly expect him to start Friday against Pittsburgh.
– Dubinsky showed no ill effects of missing time with an elbow infection (playing 17:25) and Andrew Bodnarchuk handled himself well in limited minutes. Again, this game saw huge contributions from the young and the quick. Atkinson played 19:08 before leaving with an apparent injury, racking up five shots.
– Back home on Friday against Pittsburgh before traveling to St. Louis on Saturday. CBJ have gone 7-4 in November. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.