Despite trailing by two heading into the third period, the New Jersey Devils scored three goals in a span of two minutes to take a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 31.
The game began with Columbus taking an early lead. Assisted by Kirill Marchenko and Dysin Mayo, Columbus’s Mason Marchment scored to give the Blue Jackets the 1-0 lead. With just under five minutes left in the period, New Jersey’s Dougie Hamilton was given a minor penalty for tripping Charlie Coyle. The period concluded with Columbus leading 1-0.
Coming into the second behind, the Devils attempted to score, taking plenty of shots on goal, yet none were close enough to tie the game. As the period headed towards a close, Hamilton drew another penalty for tripping, this time on Zach Aston-Reese. In response, Coyle came back and concluded the period by extending their lead to two after scoring his sixth of the season (assisted by Boone Jenner and Cole Sillinger).
After a bit of scoreless physical play between the teams to start the third period, Jersey captain Nico Hischier took advantage of a power play, scoring the first goal for the Devils (assisted by Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes). The Devils were now only down one goal, but not for long. Less than a minute later, rookie Arseny Gritsyuk followed up with his eighth goal of the season, ultimately tying the game (assisted by Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler).
With only a little over 15 minutes remaining in the game, both teams were now tied at two. That was until Luke Hughes came back in. Just over a minute after Gritsyuk, Luke Hughes delivered another shot at Columbus goalie Jet Greaves to score the game-winning goal and solidify the victory. Along with the win, Luke Hughes also tied the New Jersey Devils franchise record for the most multi-point games by a defenseman under 23.
As each team remained on the attack, both teams picked up a couple of penalties; Kirill Marchenko of Columbus for hooking, Brenden Dillon of New Jersey for interference, and both Cody Glass and Dmitri Voronkov for fighting. Even with all of the physicality towards the end of the game, it did not affect the outcome, as the Devils pulled through and finished with the 3-2 win.
The Devils are currently fifth in the Metropolitan Division and tenth overall in the Eastern Conference. In addition to that, New Jersey is going into 2026 with a record of 21-17. They now look ahead to conquering the Utah Mammoth once again, Saturday at home at 3 p.m.
