Columbus Blue Jackets routed 6-3 by New Jersey Devils: 5 takeaways
The only bright side was the lack of a lead in the third period for the Blue Jackets to fumble away.
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Otherwise, what the sellout crowd of 18,172 watched Saturday night at Nationwide Arena was dominant performance by the New Jersey Devils, who routed the Blue Jackets 6-3 while owning the puck most of the game.
“They made the playoffs last year,” Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said. “Their offensive ability to make plays and their skating ability makes it hard to play against when we have the puck, too, because they’re transitioning and they’re quick too. But we were chasing it all night.”
Jack Hughes led the Devils (16-11-1) with three goals for his second career hat trick. The other three were scored by Erik Haula, Tyler Toffoli and Nico Hischier. The Blue Jackets’ only forward group with sustained success was the all-Russian second line of Yegor Chinakhov, Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko.
Marchenko and Chinakhov scored goals and Voronkov added an assist. Alexandre Texier also scored for the Blue Jackets (10-17-5) and Johnny Gaudreau notched his 700th career point with an assist.
Here are five takeaways:
Daniil Tarasov draws tough assignment in season debut for Columbus Blue Jackets
Daniil Tarasov hadn’t seen an NHL shot since March 21 last season in the Blue Jackets’ 7-6 overtime victory in Washington. This was his season debut after missing the preseason and first 30 games with a knee injury. Just 47 seconds into the game, the 6-foot-5 backstop was fishing the puck out of his net after a turnover by Gaudreau led to Hughes’ first goal.
“It was kind of a tough start,” Tarasov said. “They scored a pretty quick goal. That was kind of a tough game.”
Tarasov allowed five goals on 29 shots, but the injury-prone goalie was happy just to get back in the Blue Jackets’ net. He’ll now be part of a three-goalie rotation with Elvis Merzlikins as the clear No.1 and Spencer Martin battling Tarasov for the main backup role.
“It’s a different speed here (in the NHL),” Tarasov said. “I’m still working on (my timing). It’s the first game in the NHL in a while, so it’s a lot of new stuff and you’re trying to learn it as quick as possible.”
New Jersey Devils pressure Columbus Blue Jackets into early mistakes
What happened in the first period should give the Blue Jackets chills.
The Devils made the opening period look like the third period whenever the Jackets have a lead. New Jersey began the game with a heavy forecheck that most teams haven’t used against the Blue Jackets until they’re trailing. Just like those teams found out, an intense forecheck often gives the Blue Jackets fits and that pressure led directly to Gaudreau’s turnover prior to Hughes's first goal.
Standing along the wall on far side of the Columbus zone, Gaudreau attempted an exit pass that went straight to Toffoli, who then set up Hughes with an uncontested take to the net.
“I saw a blue shirt, far side,” Gaudreau said. “A guy backed off, (Toffoli) picked it off and it ended up in our net. It’s a bad turnover. It’s part of hockey, but I felt bad that I kind of let Tarry's first shot there coming back from six, seven months (be) on a breakaway. It’s on me, but I’ll try not to do it again.”
That’s the kind of stuff the Blue Jackets have faced against teams chasing them late in games, only the Devils did it off the hop. Don’t be surprised if other teams in a copycat league like the NHL try a similar approach.
Counterstrikes continue to kill Columbus Blue Jackets’ momentum
Near the top of the Blue Jackets’ list of things to fix is a troubling trend of allowing counterstrikes.
The Devils did it twice Saturday, countering both Blue Jackets goals in the second period with goals by Toffoli and Hughes. Toffoli’s extended New Jersey’s lead to 3-1 just 33 seconds after Marchenko scored. Later in the period, Hughes countered Chinakhov’s goal to re-establish a two-goal lead at 4-2 with 5:06 remaining.
Not counting empty-net goals, opponents have countered Blue Jackets goals 29 times, including 22 within five minutes of a Columbus goal and five less than a minute later. The Jackets’ record could be significantly better if they cleaned up two main areas: protecting leads in the third period and building momentum from their own goals.
“You just can’t give up quick goals right after we score one,” defenseman Andrew Peeke said. “It quickly flips that momentum right back to them. There’s a lot of momentum swings in this game, and when you have momentum on your side it goes well for you. That was a little killer, and you just can’t do that.”
Columbus Blue Jackets’ faceoff failures contribute to poor performance against New Jersey Devils
The most difficult area for the Blue Jackets to compensate for not having captain Boone Jenner (fractured jaw) is on faceoffs.
They won only 41% of the draws against the Devils, including 25% (5 of 20) in the offensive zone. That wasn’t the only reason the puck rarely stayed in the New Jersey zone during the first two periods, but it was a big factor.
“We chased it all night,” Vincent said. “(New Jersey’s) an offensive team, good transition, their line of centers is one of the best in the league. (We were) five for 20 on faceoffs in the offensive zone. You’re chasing the puck, chasing the puck. Forty-one percent total for the game. It starts there.”
Hughes struggled on faceoffs while centering the Devils’ top line, winning only 20% (2 of 10), but their other three centers ― Nico Hischier, Dawson Mercer and Michael McLeod — went a combined 67.5% while winning 25 of 37. McLeod went 11 of 13 to lead the way at 84.6%, including 8 of 8 in the defensive zone against Voronkov, Adam Fantilli, Cole Sillinger, Alexandre Texier and Kent Johnson.
That’s two Blue Jackets rookies, a second-year player, a third-year player and Texier, who isn’t a proven NHL faceoff option and played in Switzerland last season. There are multiple reasons why Jenner soaks up a ton of ice time, but his skill at winning faceoffs (55.9%) is the biggest.
He’s still in the early stages of recovery, so the Jackets don’t have a quick fix to solve their faceoff conundrum against teams loaded with veteran centers.
Columbus Blue Jackets assistant Steve McCarthy recovering from concussion
Blue Jackets assistant Mark Recchi, who usually helps with running forward lines and power plays, got a new assignment against the Devils.
Recchi was charged with deploying defense pairings in place of assistant Steve McCarthy, who was out with a concussion sustained in practice Friday. McCarthy was struck in the back of the head by a puck that caromed off the crossbar, causing him to black out. McCarthy needed stitches and had a “tough night” Friday dealing with concussion symptoms, which is why he couldn’t coach. Vincent no bones were fractured, so the overall prognosis is good.
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Coaches are the only people on the ice at NHL practices who aren’t required to wear head protection, so it’s a little surprising this doesn’t happen more often. McCarthy’s luck is worse than average. He was also struck with a puck above the right eye while standing on the bench during the Jackets’ season-opener in October. That one just required stitches.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 5 takeaways after Devils dominate Blue Jackets in six-goal performance
