The New Jersey Devils fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a shootout by the final score of 2-1. This game was a bit of a sleeper for the first 50 minutes. It was not until the last 10 minutes and overtime came around that the Prudential Center actually had a pulse.

The Blue Jackets struck rather quickly, scoring off a bad bounce against the boards that Cam Atkinson put into an empty net in the first minute. The Devils responded late in the second period when the only two healthy NHLers left, Blake Coleman and Travis Zajac paired up to score the goal. That is how the game stayed through the rest of regulation and overtime. There were a few close calls, including late in regulation when Michael McLeod hit the post.

Overall, the Devils were the better team. They kept opposing chances to a minimum, and Cory Schneider did not have a lot of work tonight, facing only 18 shots. New Jersey threw 30 shots at Sergei Bobrovsky but once again could not find the back of the net more than once. We move on to the shootout, and it was over in two rounds after Cam Atkinson and Artemi Panarin beat Schneider on consecutive shots to win the game.

In injury news, of course, there is more to add. Jesper Bratt took a shot off his ankle in the first minute of the second period and did not return to the game. The plague continues for the Devils if Bratt is unable to go on Friday against Washington. And if one of the many injured Devils is not ready to return, another call-up is imminent. I have absolutely no speculation on who the call up would be. But if I had to guess, it would be Brett Seney again because he has played a bulk of games in the NHL this season.