Two teams with polar opposite expectations before the season. One game. One playoff chase. Anything can happen.

Tuesday night at Prudential Center, the New Jersey Devils played host to the Columbus Blue Jackets – a Cinderella team if there ever was one – in a game that threatened to shake the playoff race to its core. The result was a 5-3 victory for the Garden Staters that was keyed by a three goal first period, Timo Meier’s clutch second period marker and Luke Hughes’ insurance tally in the third period.

New Jersey set the tone early as Nico Hischier scored a power-play goal by redirecting the puck past Elvis Merzlikins 6:37 into the game. Then, just after the Devils’ killed off a holding penalty against Paul Cotter, Number 47 sprang from the box for a Jack In the Box goal that doubled the home team’s lead to 2-0, 10:49 into the game. 

As if that wasn’t enough to please the crowd, The Mrs. Fields Cookie finally won its first jumbotron race of the year to blow the roof off Prudential Center. 

“That was awesome,” Paul Cotter exclaimed. “I mean, that was great. I don’t know what was on the scoreboard, but everyone’s going nuts.”

Finally, with 18:51 gone in the first period, Jesper Bratt took a feed from the newly acquired Cody Glass and scored from in tight to give the Devils a 3-0 lead. 

“That’s why it’s important that we take this feeling,” Timo Meier explained. “It’s fun winning at home in front of our fans and like I said, (we’ve got to) build on this. The stuff that we did well, do it even better next game.”

As pointed out by Devils’ team digital reporter, Amanda Stein, that was New Jersey’s first three-goal first period of the season. And MSG Networks’ Devils stats guy, Nick Cahill added that it was New Jersey’s first three goal period of any kind since January 29th against the Philadelphia Flyers. 

Mathieu Olivier redirected Denton Mateychuk’s shot from the point past Jacob Markstrom 3:30 into the second period to get the Blue Jackets on the board. Less than four minutes later, Kirill Marchenko got in behind Brian Dumoulin and put the puck past Markstrom to draw Columbus within 3-2. 

After each team received a power-play opportunity – during which neither scored – Columbus continued to push the pace. Then, an odd-man rush for New Jersey led to Timo Meier blasting a howitzer past Merzlikins to extend the Devils’ lead to 4-2 with 16:49 gone by in the middle period. 

Luke Hughes wired a laser, top-shelf, from the top of the left face-off circle, past Merzlikins 26 seconds into the third period to push the Devils’ lead to 5-2. Olivier scored his second of the game 10 minutes after Hughes’ goal to draw Columbus within 5-3, but that was as far as they got. New Jersey held on the rest of the way and secured two big points to establish a six-point lead over Columbus for the Number Three slot in the Metropolitan Division. 

“It’s huge,” Luke Hughes said after the game. “In the standings and just the morale in the locker room, to beat a team that’s buzzing like that. They’ve been hot on our tail for a long time now and it’s a huge four point swing.” 

But this game was about more than just the final score. It was a microcosm of each team’s season. 

Shortly before the season began, Columbus lost its best player and one of the most beloved members of The NHL’s Fraternity when Johnny Gaudreau – along with his brother Matthew – was violently run over by a drunk driver while going biking the night before their sister’s wedding. 

The emotional toll that took on the Blue Jackets is still felt all these months later and will be for a very long time. But on the ice, Gaudreau’s tragic demise was just as big a hit to Columbus’ plans. Sure, they weren’t supposed to be a contender, but expectations were that they would take a meaningful step forward. Instead, they began the season with a hole in their hearts and lineup. The NHL even had to grant the organization special permission in regards to being cap compliant as they were well under the cap floor without Gaudreau. 

Nothing was expected of the young Blue Jackets. Zach Werenski came into the season as a solid defenseman, but certainly not a star. Adam Fantilli possessed untold amounts of potential coming off his injury-shortened rookie year. Many of their teammates were in a similar boat. The playoffs were a pipe dream. Maybe, just maybe, with a nice early winning streak, they could briefly enter the playoff race before inevitably falling backwards in the standings. Then this season happened and they began to blossom. 

Meanwhile, last season was a nightmare for the Devils. Almost nothing went right. In 2022-23 they made the playoffs and seemed to finally be a team on the rise. Then, last year came and it all fell apart. Their defense, which had been a pleasant surprise the year prior, had more holes than Swiss cheese. Their goaltending, which had been a major reason they went to the postseason in 2022-23, regressed so much that the team ended up completely overhauling its goalie depth chart, from top to bottom. 

About the only thing that did go right for New Jersey was that its offense, while not as dynamic as the year before, remained a strength. So, when the Devils went out, revamped their blue line and got their Number One goalie by trading for Jacob Markstrom. All signs pointed to a return to the playoffs as one of The NHL’s best teams.

Now, in mid-March, Columbus continues to hold down a Wild Card spot as they look to qualify for the postseason for only the seventh time in franchise history. Their season was considered “over” before it even began and now they’re not only closing in on the playoffs, but they also entered Tuesday’s game with a legitimate shot at overtaking the Devils for third place in the division. 

On the other side, the Garden State Skaters started the year off as one of The League’s best teams, living up to the early expectations. However, since Christmas, New Jersey has rather resembled one of the worst teams in The League as, of all things, their offense has failed them. The goaltending has been very good. The defense has been steady. But they can’t seem to find the back of the net and that has brought them back to the pack in the standings. Perhaps Tuesday’s three-goal first period and five-goal total output will help awaken the slumbering offense?

“We loved our energy,” Devils’ Head Coach Sheldon Keefe began. “The guys we’re really committed today to go out and play a pretty simple game to start. Lots of speed on the puck. Speed on the puck usually brings with it some physicality and just play through your check and then get a power-play. And the power-play makes good on it. That’s a great recipe. Get a good start. Don’t give up much. Have good energy. Get a power-play. Make good on it. Take control of the game and take care of it from there. That’s two games in a row here now that we’ve been able to play with the lead and that’s what you want to do.”

Again, Tuesday night’s game was big for all involved. It was an excellent example of how both teams’ seasons have gone and it reinforced the notion that, when it comes to hockey – and cookies – you should always expect the unexpected.