Matt Calvert scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second period and Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves to help the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Wednesday night.
William Karlsson also scored for Columbus, and Bobrovsky extended his mastery of New Jersey. He has won his last four starts against the Devils.
Adam Henrique scored for New Jersey, which has lost three of four.
The Blue Jackets took nine of the first 10 shots in the opening period and the pressure paid off with Karlsson’s goal at 8:51.
Schneider did his best to hold off the onslaught up to that point with spectacular stops against Cam Atkinson and David Savard.
Columbus broke through when Karlsson, shooting from a sharp angle, banked his own rebound off Schneider’s right pad.
The Blue Jackets skated off at the first intermission with the one-goal lead and a 14-4 shots advantage.
The tide turned in the Devils’ favour in the second as they started the period with 3:12 of carry-over power-play time.
New Jersey didn’t score with that man advantage but did finally beat Bobrovsky shortly thereafter, thanks to some slick passing.
Henrique started and finished the play. He stripped the puck from Boone Jenner and fed it to Mike Cammalleri motoring down the right wing. Cammalleri then delivered a perfect return pass to Henrique for a high wrister from the left dot over Bobrovsky.
The Devils controlled the tempo most of the period, denying the Blue Jackets a shot on goal for the first 16 minutes.
But in the last four minutes, Columbus launched a big push that paid off with Calvert’s goal at 18:36.
Atkinson unloaded a drive from the left point and Schneider made a stick stop. Calvert was right on the spot to steer in the rebound.
Henrique seemingly tied the game with a second score 8 minutes into the third. The goal was waved off when the officials ruled that Columbus, about to be assessed a delayed penalty, had gained control of the puck before Henrique put it in the net.
Bobrovsky stopped everything else, making 10 saves in the third — including a goal-mouth bid by Andy Greene with a minute left.
Both teams welcomed back significant players.
Patrik Elias made his first appearance of the season for the Devils. The team’s career leader in goals and points had been sidelined since training camp with a right knee injury.
The Blue Jackets regained a pair of centres: Brandon Dubinsky (elbow) and Alexander Wennberg (foot) had both missed six games.
NOTES: Scott Hartnell played in his 100th game for Columbus. . The Blue Jackets are the only team that hasn’t played an overtime game this season. . New Jersey scratched RWs Brian O’Neill, Jiri Tlusty and D David Schlemko. The Columbus scratches were defencemen Justin Falk and Fedor Tyutin. . Devils RW Kyle Palmieri took a hard hit along the boards in the first period and returned for the second with a full face shield attached to his helmet.
