Merzlikins makes 24 saves, Blue Jackets shut out Devils for 6th straight win

NEWARK, N.J. -- Elvis Merzlikins made 24 saves and the Columbus Blue Jackets won their season-high sixth straight game, 3-0 against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Tuesday.

Mathieu Olivier scored two goals and Dante Fabbro scored once in the third period for the Blue Jackets (28-20-7), who are 9-1-0 since Rick Bowness took over as coach on Jan. 12.

"We just stuck to our plan," Olivier said. "They didn't give us much in the first two periods, and not that we were playing bad at all, but they just were on top of us. It was a really good defensive game on both sides. We just felt comfortable playing that kind of game and it ended up paying off for us."

Merzlikins earned his first shutout of the season and first since a 2-0 win against the New York Islanders on Oct. 30, 2024. It was his second career shutout against the Devils.

"We are putting the pressure a lot more on the opponents and we're cleaning up more in front of the net," Merzlikins said. "Me and [goalie partner Jet Greaves] are seeing more pucks and I think it makes our life easier."

Jacob Markstrom made 23 saves for the Devils (28-26-2), who have lost four of their past five games.

"You got to generate some offense and reward yourself for the amount of time you have the puck and time that we spend on the offensive side," New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. "You got to make a play, find a way to get a quality scoring chance and make good on it. You don't make enough plays, you're not going to get your offense when we're just hanging around.

"We just wilt in the third period ... just wilted. And that's not good enough."

Merzlikins made 17 saves through two periods, denying Timo Meier on a snap shot off a spin-o-rama from the slot at 1:20 of the second period. Columbus was 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.

Fabbro gave Columbus a 1-0 lead at 5:24 of the third period on a snap shot through a screen from the top of the right face-off circle. Fabbro, a defenseman, was inserted into the lineup after missing his past six games with a lower-body injury.

"We're just hunting teams," Fabbro said. "We're not sitting back on our heels. We're playing on our toes all game and I think you saw it tonight. I think we just stuck to the game plan longer than they did, and it obviously paid off."

Olivier pushed it to 2-0 when he scored on a backhand off a breakaway at 12:05.

Olivier was then credited with his second goal to make it 3-0 after being slashed by Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton while attempting to shoot into an empty net at 16:00.

"I thought we were the better team for two periods and then we broke in the third and they were able to capitalize and do a good job of not giving anything up," Devils forward Connor Brown said. "They weren't turning the puck over and that's something this team can learn from. It's a recipe for success. They got the lead and they played well with it. We couldn't capitalize 6-on-5 or 5-on-4 and needless to say, we're missing our quarterback ... it would be nice to have [Jack Hughes] in those moments."

Hughes missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury.

"It's disappointing and we're trying, the effort and commitment is there, but it's tough when you don't get the results," Brown said.

Keefe was asked if his team's poor performance in the third period was due to a lack of confidence.

"It's part confidence, it's partially mental toughness," he said. "We're not mentally tough enough, clearly. These are critical moments in our season ... you got to get to overtime and get the extra point. I said it a lot last season, and it's showing up again. Whether it's just mental toughness and conditioning, physical toughness and conditioning, we're wilting in these situations."

NOTES: Merzlikins got his 12th career shutout to tie Marc Denis for the third most in Blue Jackets history. ... Columbus, which is 10-1-0 in its past 11 games, has outscored its opponents 26-13 during its six-game winning streak. ... The Blue Jackets appeared to take a 1-0 lead 5:10 into the first period when Danton Heinen scored on a shot from the right face-off circle but the Devils successfully challenged the play for goalie interference on Miles Wood in the crease. ... Bowness tied nine other coaches for the NHL record for most wins by a coach through his first 10 games with a franchise (nine). ... Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski had an assist to extend his assist streak to five games (eight assists). He leads all NHL defensemen with 61 points (19 goals, 42 assists).