The New Jersey Devils dropped their second straight game on home ice, falling 5-3 to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a matchup that started with promise but spiraled into frustration - and concern.
New Jersey came out firing, jumping to a 2-0 lead on just five shots. It looked like the kind of bounce-back performance they needed.
But Columbus answered in waves, and Devils goaltender Jake Allen struggled to stem the tide. By the end of the night, the Devils had let another divisional game slip through their fingers - and this one came with more than just a tally in the loss column.
The turning point wasn’t a goal or a blown coverage. It came in the form of a fight - and a frightening one at that.
On a night that was supposed to celebrate Brenden Dillon’s 1,000th NHL game, things took a dark turn. Dillon squared up with Dmitri Voronov, but the fight ended abruptly when Dillon was taken down hard, face-first into the ice.
He didn’t get up right away, and the arena fell into a hush. Medical staff rushed out, and Dillon was helped off the ice and sent to the locker room.
Columbus walked away from the incident with just a fighting major. Dillon, meanwhile, wouldn’t return for the rest of the period - and though he briefly came back for the second, he didn’t finish the game. The optics were tough, and the impact on the Devils' bench was obvious.
From there, the game unraveled.
Shortly after the Dillon incident, Columbus found the equalizer. Then came another scrap - this time between Jonas Siegenthaler and Adam Fantilli.
Siegenthaler was forced into the fight after Fantilli unhooked his jersey and started throwing punches. Somehow, Fantilli avoided an instigator penalty, while Siegenthaler got tossed.
That left the Devils down two left-shot defensemen for the rest of the game.
And in a game that already felt like it was teetering, that loss of personnel proved costly.
The Devils couldn’t regain their early rhythm. Columbus continued to capitalize, and the Devils were left playing catch-up without two of their key blue-liners. Dillon didn’t return after the second intermission, and with the defensive depth already thin, the cracks started to show.
This one stings - not just because it’s a divisional loss in an Eastern Conference race where every point matters, but because of how it happened. The Devils had the start they wanted.
They had the energy. But they couldn’t hold it together when the game got chippy.
And in a league where physicality is part of the fabric, teams have to be able to match that without losing their edge.
Looking ahead, the Devils are entering a tough stretch. The schedule doesn’t lighten up, and the blue line is already stretched thin.
If Dillon is out for any extended time - with Brett Pesce still weeks away and Johnny Kovacevic not expected back for at least a month - the Devils are going to have to get creative. Whether that means calling up reinforcements or shifting pairings, something has to give.
This team has the talent to stay in the hunt, but they need to find a way to weather these storms - especially when the games get messy. The response to this loss will say a lot about where the Devils are mentally.
They don’t just need a win. They need to show they can take a punch - and get back up swinging.