Blue Jackets’ Dean Evason vents frustration over brutal Devils loss

The Columbus Blue Jackets just completed their home opener for the 2025-26 campaign. Hopes were high for the Jackets heading into the season, and could still be, but the team dropped its first home game of the year, 3-2, to the New Jersey Devils. This led to head coach Dean Evason sharing some of his frustrations.

“It’s frustrating. The guys, I’m sure, are frustrated already. We had a real good opportunity to win this hockey game here tonight. We just didn’t finish,” said the coach after the game.

The Jackets had every chance to take the win over the Devils. They outshot New Jersey 33-28 while having five powerplay opportunities. Still, they did not convert on any of the five chances, and are now one for nine on the man advantage this year.

“We’ve got to stay the course with what we’re doing and not push too many panic buttons,” noted Evason.

Still, the special teams units have been a weak spot so far this season. Not only did the team miss a chance to win against the Devils because it failed to score on the powerplay, but the penalty kill was also an issue.

The Devils scored two of their three goals on the man advantage, converting both times they had the PP. The Blue Jackets have now given opponents 14 powerplays in three games, and teams have converted seven times.

While there were frustrating failures in this third game of the season for the Blue Jackets, the team did have some bright spots. Dmitri Voronkov scored his second goal of the year, giving him four points on the season. Meanwhile, Kirill Marchenko scored his fourth goal of the season. Marchenko is preaching patience currently.

“I like how we played, mentally everybody goes to the battle. Everybody played really good. We just had a little bit of bad luck. We need to think what we can do better … and don’t get frustrated,” the forward told the media after the game.

Right now, the team needs to focus on special teams. If they can get that right, more wins will follow. The Jackets are back in action on Thursday night against the visiting Colorado Avalanche.