Where to start? This game had it all and not much of it good for New Jersey. The Devils came out of the gate flying getting a quick two goal lead and even a goal from Ondrej Palat! The table was set for NJ to grab control and blow out Columbus in what would've been a great bounce back from Saturday night's blunder versus Philly. Instead they had a Timo Meier goal that would have given the Devils a 3-0 lead, wiped for goalie interference and then the wheels began to fall off.
l won't touch too much on the Dillon fight, but there sure was a lack of respect by Dimitri Voronkov of the Jackets. Dillon, ambushed from behind by the 6 foot 5 inch mutant of a man, lost a fight he didn't even know he was really in until it was over. The two teams will meet in Columbus December 31st and a gain back at the Rock on February 3rd. Expect fireworks or not as Columbus has some big boys that can throw (Thank God Mathieu Olivier wasn't in the lineup last night), and the Devils outside of Dillon, do not.
It was good to see the Devils stand up for Dillon after that. Win or lose, dropping the gloves in an NHL fight takes a lot of courage and garners respect either way. Unfortunately for the Devils one of those fights included Jonas Siegenthaler who didn't buckle his fighting strap and was ejected for that reason. The Devils, were then forced to play more than half of a game with just three defensemen, and Dennis Cholowski on the back end.
From there, it didn't go well. Jake Allen who has been either very good or very bad, was very bad again. His penchant to allow goals in quick succession at the wrong time in games has killed him over the last two seasons here in NJ. While some of it could be attributed to the team in front of him, Allen has to figure out a way to make more saves when needed. It was nine days prior in Philly where Jake allowed four goals on four straight shots over a 3:32 span, including three in 26 seconds. Last night it was two goals in 34 seconds to open the third period scoring and completely take the wind out of the arena. Timo Meier would restore some of the juice with a huge power play goal with just over eight minutes remaining, but it was Allen again. The Devils goalie forced an ill advised pass to Luke Hughes who was draped by a Jackets forechecker, Allen barely was able to return to the crease to watch Miles Wood's shot enter the net. The Wood goal was a dagger for Columbus, and the third goal surrendered by Allen over a four shot span in the final frame. If the Devils are going to have any success, the goaltending will need to level out and play more consistent hockey. Surrendering three goals on six third period shots in a tie game on home ice isn't going to get it done. In addition its kind of hard to blame a depleted defense when they hold the opponent to just a half dozen pucks on net.
Lastly I know he has had a few assists lately, but Jesper Bratt is ghost when needed most. In Jack Hughes' absence we are learning that Bratt, who I like a lot, is just not that guy. With that said, I hope he makes me eat these words. The schedule is about to get tough again, Dallas on Wednesday and Vegas on Friday, can the Devils answer the bell?