Timo Meier scores in OT, Devils beat Blue Jackets 4-3

Dec 28, 2023, 03:45 am

NEWARK, N.J. -- — Timo Meier scored on a breakaway at 2:12 of overtime to give the New Jersey Devils their second straight comeback victory, 4-3 over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night.

Luke Hughes tied it for New Jersey with 25 seconds left in regulation. With goalie Vitek Vanecek off for an extra attacker, Hughes beat goalie Elvis Merzlikins with a wrist shot.

“Yeah. I just came off the bench fresh, with some speed," Hughes said. "I had the crossover behind the net and from there I just let my skating do the work. It’s a good effort for our team, got to clean some things up, but a big win for us.”

On Saturday at home, the Devils rallied to beat Detroit 3-2. They've won an NHL-leading 12 come-from-behind games.

“I'm getting tired of the comeback stuff,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “Some guys were sharp, some guys weren't sharp. I thought some of our top guys weren't sharp and it affected our game.”

Yegor Chinakhov gave Columbus a 3-2 lead with 2:26 left, scoring after he poke-checked the puck away from Jonas Siegenthaler. Columbus has blown an NHL-worst 17 leads.

“The effort was pretty solid for the most part,” Columbus defenseman Damon Severson said. “We had a couple of shots at it. It was one of those games where we probably deserved better.”

Ondrej Palat and Dawson Mercer also scored for New Jersey, with Mercer tying it at 2 with 4:09 left in regulation. Vanecek made 26 saves.

Justin Danforth and Jake Bean added goals for Columbus, and Merzlikins stopped 31 shots. The Blue Jackets are 4-9-3 on the road.

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: Host Toronto on Friday night.

Devils: At Ottawa on Friday night.

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