Now that’s balls. The New Jersey Devils (21-17-2) capped off 2025 with a thrilling comeback victory, defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets (17-16-6) 3-2 on the road at Nationwide Arena.
The win snapped a four-game losing streak for New Jersey and provided a much-needed boost heading into 2026.
The game started slowly for the Devils, who found themselves trailing 2-0 after two periods. Columbus struck first in the opening frame, with Mason Marchment and Charlie Coyle finding the net to build an early lead.
New Jersey struggled offensively through the first 40 minutes, managing limited quality chances, while Jake Allen kept them as close as possible with key saves, including during a critical penalty kill late in the first.
In fact, Columbus overwhelmed the Devils in the middle frame with 18 shots on goal, as opposed to New Jersey’s 12.
The third period, however, belonged entirely to the Devils. Trailing by two, they exploded with heavy pressure on Blue Jackets goaltender Jett Greaves, scoring three goals in just under two minutes to stun the Blue Jackets. Captain Nico Hischier ignited the rally on the power play, redirecting a point shot from Luke Hughes to cut the Columbus lead 2-1. The floodgates opened from there, as the Devils capitalized on the momentum shift with quick transitions and, for the first time in a long time, finish.
Shortly after Hischier’s tally, Timo Meier jumped on a loose puck in the Devils’ end and led an odd-man rush towards Columbus’ end of the ice. He dished the puck to Arseny Gristyuk, who unleashed a shot past Greaves 55 seconds after the captain scored to tie the game at two.
One minute later, Luke made an even bigger impact, sneaking into the Columbus slot, and firing the Devils’ third goal past Greaves to give New Jersey their first lead of the game.
Frustrated, the Blue Jackets attempted to push back, as Dmitry Voronkov dropped the gloves with Cody Glass at the 11:40 mark of the third. However, Allen and the Devils clamped down Columbus in the final frame, including a huge penalty kill with under five minutes remaining in the period to seal a 3-2 victory in their last game in 2025.
Allen made 33 saves on 35 shots, making 2.4 saves above expected, capturing his 11th win of the season.
