And boom goes the cannon! That was the noise in the Nationwide Arena for the Columbus Blue Jackets during their offensive night against the Montreal Canadiens, in a 5-1 regulation victory against former power play coach Martin St. Louis. It was also the NHL debuts for Michigan students Kent Johnson and Nick Blankenburg.
Jack Roslovic opened the scoring with a strong wrist shot, that beat the Habs’ net minder off his chest, and then went over his blocker side shoulder for the Columbus native’s 16th of the season. The first goal of the game came with 8 minutes and 36 seconds into the game. Winger Patrik Laine and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov had the helpers.
Roslovic extended the lead with his 2nd of the game and 17th of the season. Laine is on his second primary assist on the evening. Gustav Nyquist had secondary point.
Patrik Laine continued to increase the lead for Columbus with his 26th goal of the season. Laine’s power play marker was helped by Nyquist and Jakub Voracek.
Ryan Phoeling closed the hope of a shutout with his 6th of the season. Nick Suzuki and Mike Hoffman had the helpers for the Habs.
Cole Sillinger brought the three goal lead to Columbus with his 13th. Emil Bemstrom had the primary assist. Nick Blankenburg had his first career NHL point in his debut with the secondary assist.
Bemstrom closed the scoring with his 5th of the season; Jakub Voracek and Sillinger had the final apples.
Elvis Merzlikins stopped 20 of 21 shots for a 0.952 save percentage
Samuel Montembault stopped 26 of 31 shots faced for a 0.835 save percentage
Brendan Gallagher was my Montreal Canadiens’ player to watch last night, following the rumors of him and the Jackets since before the deadline. Gallagher was oddly quiet in the game, theming what’s gone on with himself and the Habitons franchise this whole season. Gally had one shot on net, and one blocked shot in 14:56 time on ice. As a third line winger at his $6.5M salary, it doesn’t make the most sense to have him there, when he is currently 29 and in the middle of his NHL prime career. However, in his line, he is set up to be a defensive shut down winger that can push, shove, or fight on the third line.
Kent Johnson was my BJ’s player to watch in his NHL debut. Johnson was played out of position to the wing, but his speed was his strong suit in the game. Johnson was held of the scoreboard for points, but had a minor penalty (for tripping) and a hit in first 11:05 in his career.
Some quick stats from the season series:
Columbus outscored Montreal 13-5 in their three games against each other.
Laine has had 4 goals and 3 assists on the Canadiens. Roslocic 3G in 3 GP Nyquist 4A in 3Gp Sillinger 2G 2A 3Gp Voracek 3A 3GP Bemstrom 1G 1A 2GP Gavrikov 2A 3GP
Blankenburg had his first career point, being the only one to debut undrafted out of his former teammates at Michigan. He was a walk-on tryout, and became the captain with his determination and focus on his academics as well as his skill. Prior to Michigan, he was in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), the same league where Cale Makar came from. Congratulations to Blankenburg on the milestone!
CBJ Three Stars of the Game
1. Jack Roslovic— 2 goals (17)
2. Patrik Laine— 1 goal (26), 2 assists (30)
3. Nick Blankenburg— assist (1); first career point
Next, is a three game road trip in California with the Kings, Ducks, and Sharks in that order. After last night, they are now one point behind the New York Islanders for 9th in the Eastern Conference, even though the Islanders have a game in hand on Columbus. It’s not close, but it would have the Jackets at 13th overall in the draft instead of 12th. More to come…