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1-ON-1 INTERVIEW | Amanda Stein interviews Blackwood following his win
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New Jersey heads to Minnesota to face the Wild in a one-game road trip, before returning home to host the Flyers and the Hurricanes this weekend. You can watch and follow along the action on njd.TV, the Devils Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
A late first-period offensive surge for the Blue Jackets allowed the visiting team to net two goals in two and a half minutes. First, Vladislav Gavrikov scored after firing a shot off a Blue Jackets face-off win. Then, a minute and a half later Stefan Matteau made it 2-1 for Columbus. Matteau followed up on a rebound to get past Blackwood and give the visitors the lead.
This score would hold through the remainder of the first period. Following the first, the Blue Jackets outshot the Devils 28-16, while the Devils dominated face-off wins, winning 21 out of 31 in the first twenty minutes. The Blue Jackets had the only power play of the period.
The second period was full of lead changes and goals with both teams scoring a total of seven goals in the middle frame.
Five minutes into the second period, the Devils saw their own offensive surge, with two goals in ten seconds. First, Matt Tennyson's top shelf shot from below the blue line tied the game up at two. Ten seconds later, Jesper Bratt scores his own, off of a feed from Pavel Zacha, to give the Devils a 3-2 lead.
Just under seven minutes into the second period, the Devils head on the penalty kill again as Damon Severson is called for hooking. During the man-advantage, Pierre-Luc Dubois scores to tie this game up once again.
The Blue Jackets broke the tie when Nick Foligno's shot from the high slot gets past Blackwood and gives the visitors a lead once again, this time 4-3.
Five minutes later Pavel Zacha scores two goals in 40 seconds to make it 5-4 New Jersey, and brings back the Devils their lead. Zacha's two goals were very similar, both from the slot after finding room, and going low on the goaltender.
A minute after Zacha's pair of goals, Columbus tied the game up once again with a goal from Stefan Matteau on the odd-man rush. The goal was Matteau's second of the night.
In the final minute of the second period, Columbus is called for a tripping minor and the Devils power play gets their first opportunity tonight. The Devils peppered Elvis Merzlikins with shots in the first minute of the power play, but the Blue Jackets goaltender stood strong.
The second period ended with both teams tied at 5. The Devils had 30 shots on goal in the second period, increasing from the 16 shots they saw in the first 20 minutes of the game. Shots were even through the second period with the Blue Jackets putting 29 shots on goal. Both teams saw special teams action with the Devils going on the power play once and the penalty kill twice.
New Jersey started the third period with one minute left on their power play. Columbus saw some time in the offensive zone during the Devils power play, and the visitors are able to keep the Devils off the scoresheet during the man-advantage.
Columbus's Alexander Wennberg broke the 5-5 tie when he scored in the final five minutes of the third period. Dubois's quick cross-ice feed allows Wennberg good position against Blackwood.
The Devils would tie up this game once again just a minute and a half later. Janne Kuokkanen gets a pass right in front from Micro Mueller and gets the equalizer for New Jersey. This 6-6 score would hold for the rest of the third period pushing the game into overtime.Following regulation, the Devils and Blue Jackets went to a 3-on-3 overtime period. Columbus was called for a tripping minor against Boone Jenner one minute in, but the Devils were unable to score with the 4-on-3 advantage. Neither team were able to score in overtime, sending the game to a shootout.
