CBJ vs NJD - SECOND ROUND SERIES RECAP

After a tough first-round series with their division rival Pittsburgh Penguins, which saw the series stretch to the full seven games for the Blue Jackets to advance, Columbus moved on to the second round to face another Metropolitan division rival, the reigning Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils. The Devils added to the top of their lineup with moves near this year's trade deadline, acquiring top-pairing defender Seth Jones and another top six forward in Vincent Trocheck. Jones came over in a trade from the Boston Bruins on deadline day, and Vincent Trocheck was brought in about a week before the deadline, though he saw much of his time with the Devils spent on the third line due to the depth of their lineup, behind the team's established centers in Aleksander Barkov and Dylan Larkin. With these additions bolstering an already deep and mostly returning Stanley Cup Champion roster, the matchup was set to be another tough series for the Jackets which would surely see the teams battle it out in a similar matchup across the seven games the Jackets needed to advance in the first round. Instead, the Blue Jackets needed just four games in the series, with a sweep of the reigning champions to advance to the Eastern Conference finals!

The series started with a huge game from Jackets netminder, Darcy Kuemper, who stopped all 31 shots he faced earning him first-star honors in front of a sold-out crowd at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. It was the first shutout for the Columbus goaltender in the playoffs and set the tone for the series ahead. The Jackets got three goals on 31 shots of their own, with the top line coming alive after a sluggish first series, seeing Mika Zibanejad and Tage Thompson net the first two goals of the game before the end of the first period. Thompson also picked up an assist on Zibanejad's goal, and their linemate, Andrei Svechnikov, also was able to get in on the scoring tallying an assist on Thompson's goal. Nick Paul netted the team's third and final goal in the second period. Though Columbus was able to hold the Devils off the scoreboard, New Jersey did have ten more shot attempts and won the faceoff battle with 58% of the draws, which signaled a more even game than the final total would seem to imply. 

Kuemper continued his strong play in the second game, again taking home first-star honors while this time allowing one goal on the same 31 shots from the Devils. Columbus was able to get two past Jersey netminder, Jacob Markstrom, with another solid outing from Mika Zibanejad which saw him pick up another goal and assist, with linemate Tage Thompson again connecting with his teammate for a nice assist on the goal. Quinn Hughes picked up the game-winning goal with about 3 minutes remaining in the second period on an assist from Brandon Hagel, who thus far was very quiet in the playoffs, recording only his second point of the postseason.

The third game of the series saw the action move back to Columbus, with the first overtime game of the series being played in front of an almost capacity crowd at the Nationwide Arena. For the team being up two games in the series, it was a surprise to see the arena only at 98% capacity instead of being completely sold out, but some fans shied away from paying the exorbitant ticket prices that come with the playoffs. Another strong performance from Kuemper wasn't enough to land him one of the three stars of the game, only allowing two goals on the 35 shots he faced in the game, the most thus far in the series. Instead top star honors went to an unsung hero in the Jackets fourth line center, Nic Dowd. After the Devils jumped out to an early lead, netted the game-tying goal shortly into the second period and then assisted on the game-winning overtime goal from fellow fourth liner, Carl Hagelin, just two minutes into extra time.

With the Blue Jackets on a roll and up 3-0 over the reigning champs, the fourth and final game once again needed extra minutes to decide the victor. This was the Jackets' strongest game of the series, finally outshooting their opponents by a margin of 33-25 and out-chancing them 62-50. Kuemper continued his strong play, again only allowing two goals, bringing the tally up to just five goals allowed on 122 shots over the entire series. The top line also continued their strong play, seeing Mika Zibanejad and Tage Thompson again taking home two points each, this time Thompson tallying a goal and an assist and Zibanejad notching two helpers. But it was standout rookie sensation Matthew Beniers who was the true hero, sending the home crowd into a frenzy with the overtime game-winner and series-clinching goal about halfway through the first overtime period. 

The Blue Jackets would like to congratulate their rival on yet another fantastic season, which saw the Devils finish three points ahead of the Jackets in the standings, making them the best team in the division and conference this regular season. Though the playoff series ended in a sweep, it was a much closer series than the record would indicate and Columbus knows they'll likely see the division leaders again in the playoffs next year, with much of their rosters likely to return.