Luke Hughes breaks 3rd-period tie in the Devils' 3-2 victory over the Blue Jackets

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New Jersey Devils forward Ondrej Palat (18), forward Cody Glass (12), forward Connor Brown (16) defenseman Brett Pesce (22) and defenseman Luke Hughes (43) celebrate Hughes' goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes celebrates his goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon) — New Jersey Devils forward Ondrej Palat (18), forward Cody Glass (12), forward Connor Brown (16) defenseman Brett Pesce (22) and defenseman Luke Hughes (43) celebrate Hughes' goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

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10:07 PM on Wednesday, December 31, 2025

The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Luke Hughes scored the go-ahead goal 4:45 into the third period and the New Jersey Devils scored three times in a 1:56 span in a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night.

Hughes also had an assist, giving him his 28th multi-point game and tying Rob Ramage for the most by a defenseman before age 23 in franchise history. Hughes snapped a shot from the slot to give the Devils the lead.

Nico Hischier and Arseny Gritsyuk also scored for New Jersey, which trailed 2-0 going into the final 20 minutes. It is the first time the Devils have won this season when trailing after two periods. It is also their first multi-goal comeback since Nov. 29, 2024, at Detroit.

Jake Allen made 34 saves, including stopping Kirill Marchenko's one-timer attempt late in the third period.

It was the fastest three goals the Devils have scored since they had three in 50 seconds during the second period on Feb. 6, 2023, against Vancouver.

Mason Marchment's first-period goal made him the first player in Columbus history to have a point in his first five games with the team. The left wing has four goals and six points since being acquired from Seattle on Dec. 19. Allen stopped Marchenko’s shot high in the slot before Marchment put in the rebound in front of the net.

Jake Coyle had the Blue Jackets' other goal. Boone Jenner became the fourth player in Blue Jackets’ history to record 400 points with an assist on Coyle’s goal. Jenner has 205 goals and 195 assists in 766 games with the franchise.

Jet Greaves stopped 30 shots as Columbus had its two-game winning streak snapped.

Four seconds after Columbus’ Marchenko was sent off for hooking, Hischier tipped in Luke Hughes’ shot from the point 2:49 into the third as Greaves was being screened.

Gritsyuk evened it 55 seconds later off a Devils’ rush with a snap shot at the top of the right faceoff circle after getting the pas from Meier.

Up next

Devils: Host Utah on Saturday.

Blue Jackets: Host Buffalo on Saturday.

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