Jack Hughes had two goals and two assists to lead the New Jersey Devils to an 8-1 rout of the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday in Newark, N.J.
The Devils are 4-1-0 in their last five games and are in second place in the Metropolitan Division, still with a chance to pass the Carolina Hurricanes for the division title.
With three regular-season games remaining, New Jersey (50-21-8, 108 points) is approaching franchise records for wins and points in a season. The 2008-09 Devils had 51 wins, and the 2000-01 Devils had 111 points.
Hughes is also making a charge through the team’s record books. Hughes’ 95 points mark the second-highest total in Devils history, behind only Patrik Elias’ 96 points from the 2000-01 season.
The eight goals marked New Jersey’s season high. The well-rounded attack saw 11 Devils record at least one point.
Timo Meier had two goals and an assist, reaching the 40-goal plateau for the first time in his career. John Marino had three assists for his first career three-point game.
Ryan Graves and Erik Haula each had a goal and an assist, and Nico Hischier had two assists. Tomas Tatar and Damon Severson scored New Jersey’s other goals.
Vitek Vanecek stopped 16 of 17 shots to earn his 32nd win of the season.
Joona Luoto’s first career NHL goal represented the only offense for Columbus (24-46-8, 56 points). Luoto’s milestone came in unusual fashion, as two video reviews were needed to fully confirm the goal at 11:33 of the second period.
The Blue Jackets are 1-5-1 in their last seven games.
Columbus forward Johnny Gaudreau left the game early in the first period due to illness.
Jackets goaltender Michael Hutchinson stopped 19 of 24 shots over 42:07 of ice time. Jon Gillies stopped eight of 11 shots in the relief outing.
The Devils were 2-for-3 on the power play Thursday and are 7-for-20 with the extra attacker over their last eight games.
–Field Level Media
