Blue Jackets 4, Devils 3: New Jersey shows plenty of effort

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By Alex Chauvancy (@AlexC_THW)

Despite having five of eight regular wingers in COVID protocols, the New Jersey Devils fought hard in a 4-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

They got off to a slow start but scored two late first-period goals to tie the game at two heading into the first intermission. They had their fair chances over the final 40 minutes but couldn't get enough past Joonas Korpisalo, who had a solid game. Here are five thoughts and takeaways:

The effort was there

No Andreas Johnsson, Jesper Bratt, Yegor Sharangovich or Pavel Zacha. You'd think the Devils stood no chance in this one. Even missing Nathan Bastian, who has played well lately, was a tough blow. But the effort was very much there. 

In fact, there's a strong argument the Devils were the better team. 

The Devils won the expected goals battle, controlling 57.9 percent of the xG at 5-on-5 and finishing with an xG of 3.30 to the Blue Jackets' 2.32 at all strengths. 

Fourteen of the Devils' 18 skaters finished xG percentages above 50 percent. Depth players like Jimmy Vesey (1 goal, 1 assist) and Marián Studenič (1 goal) stepped up and contributed. Vesey finished with an xG% of 56.88, while Studenič finished with an xG% of 59.01 percent.

And of course, there was Jack Hughes, who was a beast once again despite having his point streak snapped. He finished with an xG% of 62.75 percent on a line with Dawson Mercer and Tomáš Tatar, who both played well. For the game, Hughes had eight shot attempts, five shots on goal, and an individual xG of 0.62. He probably should've had a point or two, given the effort. Considering the circumstances, you couldn't have asked for much more from the Devils' skaters.