Devils Suffer Second Consecutive Home Regulation Loss to Blue Jackets, 5-3

Published: Tuesday, December 2, 2025

by Ryan Fox

NEWARK, N.J. - The New Jersey Devils (16-9-1) fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets (12-9-5) 5-3 on Monday night, making it their second consecutive home regulation loss after not having suffered one in their first ten contests. 

In the first period, action immediately picked up after the opening faceoff. New Jersey’s netminder, Jake Allen, took lead in the crease for the Devils, after coming off an impressive 42 save shutout game against the Buffalo Sabres during his last start in net. 

New Jersey was sent to an early powerplay after Zach Werenski was called for hooking. Nico Hischier was able to capitalize on the man advantage, getting the Devils on the board first, with Jesper Bratt and Dawson Mercer getting the assists. Shortly after, Ondřej Palát netted one for New Jersey, with Arseny Gritsyuk getting the assist, and the Devils held an early 2-0 lead. 

Columbus was sent to their first powerplay of the game not long after, where Denton Mateychuk got one past Allen, cutting the lead in half. 

The Devils were sent to their second powerplay of the game after a cross-checking call on former Devil, Brendan Smith. Timo Meier scored on the powerplay, but due to goaltender interference, the goal was called back. To finish off the first period of play, the Blue Jackets were sent to another powerplay that would resume into the second period of play after a hooking call on Dougie Hamilton.

The second period opened with Columbus still on the man advantage, and just as the powerplay expired for Columbus, Sean Monahan was able to fire one past Allen, tying the game at two a piece. 

During the 20 minutes of play, a whopping 16 penalties occurred. Four fights alone occurred in the second, one ending in a game misconduct for Devils defenseman, Jonas Siegenthaler, who was ejected from the game. 

Brenden Dillon took a temporary early exit after a fight with Dmitri Voronkov, leaving Dillon lying on the ice, needing assistance on his way to the bench. Monday night was Dillon’s 1000th career NHL game. 

The final period of play opened up after a break from the countless amount of scrums that occurred previously. The Devils were eager to get back in the lead after an extremely physical game from both parties, but it was Columbus that scored back to back in the third. Charlie Coyle netted one, with Sean Monahan adding on with his second of the night moments later. 

After some back and forth play, Cole Sillinger was sent to the box for a 2 minute slashing penalty, sending the Devils to another powerplay. Timo Meier was able to score on the chance handing Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier a pair of assists. 

However, Columbus struck back minutes later as former Devil, Miles Wood, was able to net one past Allen. 

With four minutes left, Sheldon Keefe pulled Jake Allen in an attempt to generate scoring chances with the 6-5 man advantage, leaving the net open, but it did not alter the final score, as the Blue Jackets solidified a 5-3 road victory.

New Jersey will look to bounce back Wednesday night against the Dallas Stars at home, with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Ryan Fox can be reached at ryan.fox@student.shu.edu.

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