Bobrovsky makes 30 saves, Blue Jackets hold on against Devils

NEWARK, N.J. -- Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves, and the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the New Jersey Devils 2-1 at Prudential Center on Tuesday.
Boone Jenner and Scott Harrington scored for the Blue Jackets (30-25-5, 65 points), who ended a three-game losing streak and moved into the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders.

"Bobrovsky's] always our best player," Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski said. "We didn't really help him up front a lot. We didn't really play great defensively in front of him, but Bob is always consistently our best player. He's one of the reasons why we won."
[WATCH: [All Blue Jackets vs. Devils highlights]
Taylor Hall scored, and Keith Kinkaid made 17 saves for the Devils (31-21-8, 70 points), who had won four straight. New Jersey holds the first wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference, and are two points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
"Obviously, Bobrovsky was the difference there," Kinkaid said. "We put a lot of pressure on them in the last two periods and he came away with the big saves."
The Devils outshot the Blue Jackets 20-6 over the final two periods.
"Bobrovsky played really well, especially in the second period where we turned some pucks over and didn't give ourselves a chance to forecheck," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "He made some key saves there. He's a good goalie and we all know that. He certainly was a big part of it tonight."

Hall scored 1:34 into the second period to tie the game 1-1 with a wrist shot from the right circle that beat Bobrovsky short side. Hall has 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) during a 12-game point streak, which ties Bruins forward David Pastrnak (Nov. 22-Dec. 18) for longest in the NHL this season.
Hall has 27 points (13 goals, 14 assists) during a personal 19-game point streak; he missed three games with a thumb injury from Jan. 22-25.
"I thought we played well enough to win the game," Hall said. "That's a team that's been getting 45-50 shots a game and we held them to 19, so I thought we did a pretty good job for a lot of the game. It was one of those games that could have gone either way."
Harrington scored at 13:10 of the second on a one-timer from the top of the left circle to give the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead.
"It was a huge goal by [Harrington] to get it back on our side," Werenski said. "When you go up 2-1 in an opposing team's building, especially after they've been playing pretty well in our zone, that's a big one. Then we just tried to play good defense in front of [Bobrovsky]. Bob is going to make the saves he can see, so it's just about limiting their chances backdoor and screens. I think we did a good job of that."
Jenner scored at 5:19 of the first period to make it 1-0 on a rebound after Werenski's initial shot from the left slot hit the post.

"It's one of those games," Jenner said. "I thought we had a good first, and they kind of came back in the second. ... You've just got to lock those games in. We killed a big penalty in the third and tried to limit them from there."

Goal of the game

Harrington's goal at 13:10 of the second period.

Save of the game

Bobrovsky's save on Blake Coleman at 9:48 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Hall's goal at 1:34 of the second period.

They said it

"Our power play didn't help us out, but it's a dirty one. [Bobrovsky] made some incredible saves for us too. Winning lightens the mood. It cures all. That's the saying. It's been a battle this year. We've had our ups-and-downs and been through some adversity, but it'll continue to make us better." -- Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones
"We came out a little tentative and slow in the first period but, after that, we were the better team in the second and third periods. But it's just a matter of finding a way, and getting hungrier in front of their net and a little grittier in trying to find one there." -- Devils captain Andy Greene

Need to know

Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray played 20:17 after missing the past 35 games because of an upper-body injury. ... Artemi Panarin has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past seven games. ... Nico Hischier had an assist to extend his point streak to six games (four goals, five assists).

What's next

Blue Jackets: At the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNP, NBCSP, FS-O, NHL.TV)
Devils: Host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, FS-N, NHL.TV)