The Devils are playing without injured stars Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton, but they’re still capable of putting together dominant stretches of puck possession. They did it sporadically against the Blue Jackets, including a three-goal first period aided by a power play and two fortunate bounces.

Timo Meier and Jesper Bratt scored 39 seconds apart in the second period, and the New Jersey Devils beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1.

But Columbus Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason and his staff had a message to deliver after Monday’s 2-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils in Nationwide Arena. It wasn’t the type of speech you might expect for a club that has suddenly forgotten how to score goals,