*Photo from All About the Jersey*
Sometimes you just need a miracle to get things done. Yegor Sharangovich scored, Ryan Graves scored the winning goal, and the New Jersey Devils defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets with a 3-2 victory on Tuesday night in Columbus.
Graves was the only multi point player for the Devils, recording a goal and an assist in the win. The Devils stayed hot with the win, improving to 7-1-2 in their last 10 games, trailing the Carolina Hurricanes by 3 points for first place in the Metropolitan Division as they now have a 35-13-5 record.
New Jersey head coach Lindy Ruff said of the win that "I think the one thing we’ve done well is we’ve stayed in games when games have been tight. To win the game where Mike McLeod comes off the bench, makes a great play, and Graves joins the play, just the awareness to know the clock is ticking down. Heck of a play by Michael."
It was Sharangovich who started the scoring, giving the Devils a 1-0 lead at the 10:46 mark of the first period, assisted by Erik Haula and Fabian Zetterlund. Johnny Gaudreau then tied the game for Columbus, scoring his 15th goal of the season to make it 1-1 on the power play, assisted by Patrik Laine and Adam Boqvist.
Just 7 seconds into the second period, Jesper Bratt gave the Devils a 2-1 lead, with Graves and John Marino assisting on his 21st goal of the season. Boqvist then scored 4:41 into the second, tying the game 2-2 on his first goal of the season. With just two seconds left in regulation, Graves scored to give the Devils a dramatic win, with Ondrej Palat and Michael McLeod assisting.
Graves said of his winning goal that "You have an idea how much time is left when you step on the ice. There were 25 seconds when I got on the ice. It goes up and down the ice, so you have an idea it's getting low, so you can take the risk of going because they don't have time to get back. Normally, I wouldn't be there. I was driving the net and I saw it pop through a hole. It was a great play by McLeod."
Drawing the start in net for the Devils was Vitek Vanecek, who improved to 23-5-3 with the win. Vanecek stopped 31 of the 33 shots he was tested with by the Blue Jackets, which was good for a .939 save percentage.
Getting the start for the Blue Jackets opposite Vanecek was Elvis Merzlikins, who couldn't stop the late goal from Graves. Merzlikins made 29 saves on 32 New Jersey shots on goal, recording a .906 save percentage. His record drops to 6-15-0 this season.
Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen said after the game that he had "Zero problem with the effort. I thought we played excellent. The third period it got a little away from us as far as turnovers, the puck management, but we still only had three chances against until that goal. It's disappointing we lost. You can look at a lot of positive signs against a high-end team in the NHL."
Up next, both teams resume their schedules on Thursday night. Joonas Korpisalo is expected to start for the Blue Jackets against the Winnipeg Jets. The Devils face the St. Louis Blues, with Vanecek the projected starter.
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