Caught in a streak of surrendered leads, the Columbus Blue Jackets will try to close out a victory when they visit the New Jersey Devils on Monday in Newark, N.J.
The Blue Jackets are on a four-game (0-1-3) winless streak, and the team has led in the third period during each of their overtime losses. Over their last 11 games, the Jackets have held seven third-period leads, but they only have a 3-0-4 record in those games.
Friday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins continued the trend. Columbus led 3-1 after two periods, only for the Penguins to equalize in the third and then complete the comeback on Kris Letang’s overtime winner.
Despite the “frustrating” stretch, defenseman Zach Werenski is encouraged by the fact that the Jackets have been “leading in almost every game.”
“I really like what we have going on in here,” Werenski said. “But, yeah, I mean, we’re sick of talking about (the blown leads)… I’m sure fans are sick of seeing it. So, at the end of the day, it’s on us to just find a way to get a win and win in regulation.”
Werenski leads the Blue Jackets with 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) and is among the highest-scoring defensemen in the NHL.
The Jackets dropped a 3-2 result to the Devils in Columbus on Oct. 13 in the clubs’ first meeting of the season. New Jersey is 9-2-0 in its last 11 games with the Blue Jackets, dating back to the 2022-23 season.
The Devils are 9-1-1 on home ice this season, but are coming off their first home regulation loss. The Philadelphia Flyers scored three times in the second period to power a 5-3 win over New Jersey on Saturday. The hosts trimmed a 4-1 deficit to 4-3 with 13:32 remaining, but could not complete the comeback.
“We just didn’t do it consistent enough tonight over 60 minutes,” forward Timo Meier said after the game. “We let them get behind us too much, gave up way too many chances… We had a good push and it wasn’t enough.”
Meier and Nico Hischier are both on five-game point streaks. Meier has seven points (four goals, three assists) during his streak, while Hischier has been even hotter with 10 points (five goals, five assists).
These offensive surges have helped carry the Devils’ offense while Jack Hughes has been on injured reserve. The Blue Jackets could use similar help from the rest of their roster while Kirill Marchenko and Boone Jenner remain sidelined with upper-body injuries.
Neither Marchenko nor Jenner will play on Monday, coach Dean Evason said during Sunday’s practice. Marchenko has resumed skating after missing the last four games for the Jackets, while Jenner has returned to full practices amid a nine-game absence.
Jet Greaves has started nine of the Blue Jackets’ last 11 games, and will likely play again Monday. Greaves is 7-4-5 with a 2.81 goals against average and a .901 save percentage over 16 starts this season.
Jake Allen will probably start for the Devils, as Allen is next up in the goalie rotation since Jacob Markstrom faced Philadelphia. Allen (2.27 GAA, .919 save percentage) has much better numbers than Markstrom (3.60 GAA, .874 save percentage), and is making the case for a larger piece of New Jersey’s goaltending timeshare.
