Not sure why the Devils are the slight underdog when the Blue Jackets can’t win a game to save their life right now and New Jersey is playing well as of late.
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The Blue Jackets have played better, overall, in two games under new head coach John Tortorella, but the club still wants to address its defensive game.
The Devils had won four in a row and were 4-0-1 in five games following a 0-3-0 start, but struggled to score against Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky despite controlling play for much of the first two-plus periods. Things quickly unraveled after that, though.
Hartnell beat Schneider on a slap shot from above the left circle to push the lead to 3-0.
The Devils got on the board with a Kyle Palmieri rebound goal with 2:28 remaining, but it wasn’t enough.
This isn’t the first time that Johansen’s physical preparations for the season have been questioned either.As per Devils Coach John Hynes a few of the absentees for the Blue Jackets clash will be: left wing Patrik Elias who is still out due to a right knee injury, right wing Tuomo Ruutu will be out for 4 -6 weeks because of a right foot fracture even though he is making a few progress. The game went back and forth throughout, with the Avs scoring early in the first period, with a pure snipe from an unlikely player, Jack Skille.
Shawn Mitchell and Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Post-Dispatch reported Monday that an illness that actually caused Johansen to be hospitalized on at least on occasion this offseason, is the real reason behind his supposed fitness issues. Bobrovsky made the initial saves, then lost the puck and sprawled behind him to sweep it away from the goalline with his backhand.
The Devils went on the power play again with 45 seconds left in the first when Rene Bourque was called for slashing an again did not register a shot on goal.
Boone Jenner and Cam Atkinson scored only 35 seconds apart in the third period to give Columbus a 2-0 lead, and Scott Hartnell added another with 5:13 to play. On the other hand, goalie Cory Schneider is confirmed to start against Columbus, which will mark his sixth straight appearance. Defensively, the Columbus Blue Jackets are allowing 4.4 goals per game and are killing 69 percent of their power play chances.
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The Devils generated three shots on goal during it and still could not break through. As part of the NHL’s Hockey Fights Cancer initiative, New Jersey wore lavender warm up jerseys that were later autographed and auctioned off. Additionally, the dasherboards and the ads on the dasherboards were ensconced in lavender and white….
