NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Sean Monahan scored twice and the Columbus Blue Jackets overcame an early two-goal deficit to beat the New Jersey Devils 5-3 on Monday night, snapping a four-game skid.
Charlie Coyle scored the go-ahead goal 6:40 into the third period and added two assists for the Blue Jackets, who were 0-1-3 in their previous four games. Miles Wood had a goal and an assist, and Denton Mateychuk also scored.
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Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins defends the goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New Jersey Devils' Jonas Siegenthaler, left, and Columbus Blue Jackets' Adam Fantilli fight during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Newark, N.J., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New Jersey Devils' Paul Cotter, left, fights with Columbus Blue Jackets' Brendan Smith during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Newark, N.J., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Columbus Blue Jackets' Miles Wood celebrates his goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Columbus Blue Jackets' Sean Monahan, center, celebrates his goal with teammates during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Elvis Merzlikins made 30 saves, and defenseman Zach Werenski had two assists.
Nico Hischier, Ondrej Palat and Timo Meier scored for the Devils, who opened a 2-0 lead 3:03 into the game. It was Meier's 10th goal of the season and fifth in the last six games.
Jesper Bratt had two assists for the second straight game, and Hischier had one to give him 12 points in the past six games. Jake Allen stopped 19 shots.
New Jersey (16-9-1) was handed its second consecutive loss in regulation at home after starting 9-0-1 at the Prudential Center this season. The Devils missed an opportunity to move ahead of Carolina for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
Columbus (12-9-5) improved to 5-5-2 in the past 12 games and climbed out of last place in the Metropolitan Division, one point ahead of the New York Rangers.
Monahan scored on a power-play wrist shot at 7:14 of the third, assisted by Isac Lundestrom, to put Columbus up 4-2.
The Blue Jackets won 62.3% of the faceoffs in the game.
Blue Jackets: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night.
Devils: Host the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins defends the goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New Jersey Devils' Jonas Siegenthaler, left, and Columbus Blue Jackets' Adam Fantilli fight during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Newark, N.J., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New Jersey Devils' Paul Cotter, left, fights with Columbus Blue Jackets' Brendan Smith during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Newark, N.J., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Columbus Blue Jackets' Miles Wood celebrates his goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Columbus Blue Jackets' Sean Monahan, center, celebrates his goal with teammates during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
PHILIPSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia was freed from immigration detention on a judge's order Thursday while he fights to stay in the U.S., handing a major victory to the immigrant whose wrongful deportation to a notorious prison in El Salvador made him a flashpoint of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement to let Abrego Garcia go immediately, writing that federal authorities had detained him again after his return to the United States without any legal basis.
Abrego Garcia’s attorney’s office confirmed he was released just before 5 p.m., the deadline the judge gave the government for an update on Abrego Garcia’s release. His attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, earlier told The Associated Press that Abrego Garcia plans to return to Maryland, where he has an American wife and child and where he has lived for years after originally immigrating to the U.S. illegally as a teenager.
Abrego Garcia had been held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center about 115 miles (185 kilometers) northeast of Pittsburgh.
Sandoval-Moshenberg said he’s not sure what comes next, but he’s prepared to defend his client against further deportation efforts.
“The government still has plenty of tools in their toolbox, plenty of tricks up their sleeve,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said, adding he fully expects the government to again take steps to deport his client. “We’re going to be there to fight to make sure there is a fair trial.”
The Department of Homeland Security sharply criticized the judge's decision and vowed to appeal, calling the ruling “naked judicial activism” by a judge appointed during the Obama administration.
“This order lacks any valid legal basis, and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts,” said Tricia McLaughlin, the department’s assistant secretary.
Sandoval-Moshenberg said the judge made it clear that the government can’t detain someone indefinitely without legal authority and that his client “has endured more than anyone should ever have to.”
Abrego Garcia, with an American wife and child, has lived in Maryland for years but entered the U.S. illegally as a teenager. An immigration judge ruled in 2019 that Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, could not be deported to El Salvador because he faced danger from a gang that targeted his family. When he was mistakenly sent there in March, his case became a rallying point for those who oppose President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement actions.
A court later ordered his return to the United States. Since he cannot be removed to El Salvador, ICE has been seeking to deport him to a series of African countries. His federal suit claims the Trump administration is illegally using the removal process to punish Abrego Garcia for the public embarrassment caused by his deportation.
In her order releasing Abrego Garcia, Xinis wrote that federal authorities “did not just stonewall” the court, “They affirmatively misled the tribunal.” The judge was referencing the successive list of four African countries that officials had sought to remove Abrego Garcia to, seemingly without commitments from those countries, as well as officials' affirmations that Costa Rica withdrew its offer to accept him, a claim later proven untrue.
“But Costa Rica had never wavered in its commitment to receive Abrego Garcia, just as Abrego Garcia never wavered in his commitment to resettle there,” the judge wrote.
Xinis also rejected the government’s argument that she lacked jurisdiction to intervene on a final removal order for Abrego Garcia, because she found no final order had been filed.
Separately, Abrego Garcia is asking an immigration court to reopen his case so he can seek asylum in the United States.
He is also criminally charged in Tennessee, where he has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling. He has asked the federal court to dismiss the case, arguing the prosecution is vindictive. His defense attorney in Tennessee, Sean Hecker, declined to comment.
Loller reported from Nashville and Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press reporters Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington and Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
FILE - Kilmar Abrego Garcia joins supporters in a protest rally outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)
