CJS Press Box

NEWARK, N.J. –The New Jersey Devils went into their final two-game stretch before the Olympic break needing four points to keep their playoff hopes alive. They came up empty after taking 23 total shots against the Columbus Blue Jackets, falling 3-0, on Tuesday, Feb. 3.

“We just wilt in the third period. That’s just not good enough. We’re not mentally tough enough, clearly. These are critical moments in our season,” said New Jersey head coach Sheldon Keefe.

Keefe appeared frustrated about the lack of confidence and emphasized the need for his team to make plays in the injury-ridden absence of forward Jack Hughes and left-shot defenseman Luke Hughes.

“Power play, 5 on 5, you gotta make a play,” said Keefe, “Probably our two best at their positions, two best offensive play drivers, in terms of Luke and Jack are not in, so other guys need to find a way. We just need more of it.”

The game stayed locked at 0-0 deep into the third period with both goaltenders refusing to budge.

The Blue Jackets thought they’d scored first in the opening period when Danton Heinen found the net, but former Devil Miles Wood, had crashed into Markstrom’s crease. A coach’s challenge wiped it away, and New Jersey never recovered.

Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins stopped all 23 shots he faced, Mathieu Olivier scored twice, and the Blue Jackets cruised to their sixth straight win. Devils goaltender Markstrom made 22 saves but couldn’t get any help.

Then Columbus’ Dante Fabbro, playing his first game in nearly two weeks after a lower-body injury, broke through to score. At 5:24, he fired a wrister from the left circle that beat Jakob Markstrom.

Nearly seven minutes later, Olivier delivered the knockout. Cole Sillinger fed him on a breakaway, and Olivier went one-on-one with Markstrom.

He faked one way, then flipped to his backhand at 12:05, and buried it. The arena fell silent. His empty-netter late ended it after Nico Hischier clanged one off the post. New Jersey’s frustration summed up in one sound: raining boos.

With 58 points through 55 games, the Devils (28-25-2) sit seven points out of the final Metro Division playoff spot and nine points back of a wild card berth, so there’s a hunger to work through scoring challenges to find ways to win.

“It’d be naive not realize what type of position we are in and how many points back of the playoffs we’re in,” said Devils right winger Connor Brown. “The urgency needs to get going.

Whether the season is slipping away or not, you have to look in the eye and realize we have a big game before the break. We’ll have an opportunity to reset after that.”

The Devils’ attack struggles to score without Jack Hughes, after suffering a lower-body injury against the Nashville Predators (Jan. 29), with recent news of no return before the Olympic break.

Still, he is expected to center Team USA’s top line in Milan, but will miss Thursday’s matchup against the NY Islanders.

The 2019 first overall pick (Jack Hughes), who broke Patrik Elias’ franchise single-season points record with 97 in 2022-23 and became the fastest player in Devils history to reach 300 career points, hopes to be back when he can. Hughes has 36 points (12 goals, 24 assists) in 36 games.

“His goal is to play on Thursday, and he’s trying to do everything that he can to get to that point, but it’s really up to the medical team,” said Keefe in the pregame to Devils reporter Amanda Stein. “They’re not confident with where he’s at, but we’ll just see what [Wednesday] brings.”

Luke Hughes avoids surgery, but he’s going on long-term injured reserve and is expected to miss around 10 games over the next 24 days while the team monitors his recovery.

The Devils are now 2-2-0 against Columbus this season, including a 3-2 win at Columbus on Dec. 31 in their most recent meeting. However, New Jersey’s only home game against the Blue Jackets this season ended in a 5-3 loss on Dec. 1.

The Blue Jackets (28-20-7, 61 points) came into the Prudential Center on a strong run, winning nine of their last 10 games, and are 8-1-0 since Rick Bowness took over as head coach on Jan. 12, transforming what looked like a lost season into a pressing playoff push.

We know the Metro and the East has been a good division and we haven’t been able to maintain a lot of wins in a row,” said Devils left winger Jesper Bratt. “We haven’t been able to maintain a lot of wins in a row. It’s obviously frustrating. We’re not looking more than one game ahead. We have one really important game until the break. That has to be our focus now and then recharge.”

After Thursday’s contest against the New York Islanders, eight Devils players will represent their countries: Jack Hughes (USA), Bratt and Markstrom (Sweden), Hischier, Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler (Switzerland), Simon Nemec (Slovakia), and Ondrej Palat (Czechia).

New Jersey has the third-most Olympic representatives in the league, behind only Florida and Tampa Bay, with nine apiece.

Before the break, the team took time to bond in community at Monday night’s Sweep the Deck Gala at Prudential Center, where the Devils raised over $2 million for the Devils Youth Foundation.

The sold-out gala benefits the foundation’s work addressed food insecurity and youth physical activity across New Jersey and New York, distributing $1.4 million in grants to dozens of non-profit organizations.

During the festivities, the reality of the team’s situation couldn’t be ignored. When asked what he’d say to fans who have lost faith after struggles through October, November, December, and a dip in January, Hughes spoke his mind about the team.

“I honestly have nothing to say to them, honestly,” said Jack Hughes. “For us, it’s just our group. We’ve got to figure out a way to win more hockey games. We’ve got two big games here before the break and after the break. It’s a long time to keep the league fresh. We’re up for a really good final 25 games. It’s on us.”

**Date originally written: February 3, 2026