The Columbus Blue Jackets went 1-for-2 in their back to back games against the nation’s capitals this past week- defeating the Ottawa Senators at home; while getting dominated at home by the Washington Capitals. Let us start with the good, the bad, and then the very near future.
First, Columbus defeats Ottawa at the Canadian Tire Center by the final score of 4-1.
Ottawa opened the scoring with their first and last of the game. The lonesome goal came from potential rental Tyler Ennis. The former Sabres’ first rounder earned his 7th of the year off a tip-in front of Elvis Merzlikins. Player to watch Thomas Chabot got the primary assist; rental Chris Tierney had the secondary.
Columbus came back with 4 unanswered goals, also counting as their 21st comeback win of the regular season, a new franchise record. A win is a win, but always being from behind can be a bad thing. When it comes to morale, systems, and momentum, playing from behind can motivate and hurt any team in professional sports. Hockey is a team game of luck, skill, and chemistry. The wrong bounces get teams down. The right ones can be a championship.
The first Columbus goal came from Jack Roslovic, rewarding himself with his 11th goal of the season. Zach Werenski, my Columbus player to watch, had the primary assist. The hottest player on the roster, Patrik Laine, had the secondary assist.
Eric Robinson’s go ahead counts as the game winning goal. With goals in back-to-back games, he is now at 8 on the year. Werenski earned his second assist of the night, while goalie Merzi earned his second assist of the season.
Roslovic’s second of the game goes for his 12th; Laine and Gabriel Carlsson had the final helpers on the board for Columbus.
Sean Kuraly’s 10th came on an open net, and was unassisted.
Anton Forsberg was in net once again against the team that drafted him in the 7th round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, allowing 3 goals on 38 shots faced for a 0.921 save percentage in 58:34 of time on ice. He has had a strong year for the Seantors amidst injuries to Matt Murray, and helping protect the development of Filip Gustavsson and Mats Soggard.
Elvis was strong in net for Columbus tonight. After allowing the early goal, he continued on with 30 saves on the night of 31 for a 0.968 save percentage.
The biggest takeaway from the game was the season ending injury to Thomas Chabot on Ottawa. The Senators and Jackets play again before season’s end, and their Ironman defenseman will not be there for them. This will be huge when that game comes around at the end of April 2022.
CBJ Three Stars of the Game
1. Jack Roslovic— 2 goals (12), +2, 50% FO, 17:36 TOI
2. Elvis Merzlikins— Win, Assist (2), 96.8% saves, 60:00 TOI
3. Zach Werenski— 2 assists (29), +2, 24:17 TOI
Back at home, oh my. The Washington Capitals win 7-2 over Columbus at Nationwide Arena.
The first two goals were clean breaks by the ex-Detroit Red Wing, and teammate over Gustav Nyquist, Anthony Mantha. Due to his injury, he is only at 6 goals this season. The first goal was assisted by TJ Oshie; the second was unassisted.
Goal number three came from rookie Martin Fehervary for his 5th with the big club; winger Daniel Sprong and defender John Carlson had the apples. For Carlson, it was number 49 of the season.
The shutout ended with Oliver Bjorkstrand‘s power play marker; it was his 22nd this season. Jakub Voracek and Max Domi had the helpers.
Speaking of power play, Alex Ovechkin quickly answered with his 38th of the season, and 768th of his career. Wingers Connor Sheary and Tom Wilson had the supporting points.
Period three began with a goal from Patrik Laine for his 24th of the year. Zach Werenski and Andrew Peeke have the apples.
Connor McMichael’s unanswered goal put Washington up by three for his 8th career goal; this was the Caps’ second unassisted mark of the game.
Connor Sheary’s empty netter was his 16th this season; Trevor van Riemsdyk and Nicolas Backstrom had the helpers.
Evgney Kuznetsov’s power play tally was the seventh and final goal of the game for Washington. His 20th was assisted by Backy and Ovi.
Vitek Vancek was unstoppable, only allowing 2 goals on 41 shots faced for a 0.951 save percentage. Joonas Korpisalo allowed 3 goals on 9 shots for a 0.667 save percentage; Elvis Merzlikins allowed 3 on 20 for a 0.879 save percentage.
CBJ Three Stars of the Game
1. Patrik Laine— goal (24)
2. Oliver Bjorkstrand— PPG (22)
3. Jakub Voracek— assist (41)
At the time of writing this blog, Columbus just stunned the St Louis Blues, with a 5-4 regulation win on home ice.
For the Blues, David Perron had his fourth career hat-trick, adding his 19th, 20th, and 21st goal on the season. The other goal came from Alexi Toropchenko, which was his first career goal. Brayden Schenn and Torey Krug had two assists. Justin Faulk, Jordan Kyrou, Pavel Buchnevich, and Perron each had an assist.
Emil Bemstrom had the first Columbus with 3 minutes into the game for his 3rd of the season; Eric Robinson and Vladislav Gavrikov had the helpers.
Gustav Nyquist’s 15th came off the power play; Patrik Laine and Oliver Bjorkstrand had the assists.
Laine’s 25th put him as the solo goal scoring leader for Columbus; Nyquist and Jack Roslovic had the assists.
Sean Kuraly’s 11th kept the Jackets ahead; Eric Robinson and Bemmer had the helpers.
Jakub Voracek’s fourth of the season, which led to the game winner. Bjorkstrand and Jake Bean had the final apples.
Elvis Merzlikins left the game with an injury, and Jean-Francois Berube has been recalled on an emergency basis prior to their next game in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. He had a 0.905 save percentage, while Joonas Korpisalo had a 0.714.
Ville Husso stopped 22 of 27 for a 0.815 save percentage.
CBJ Three Stars of the Game
1. Jakub Voracek— GWG (4)
2. Gustav Nyquist— PPG (15), A (23)
3. Patrik Laine— goal (25), assist (23)
Following on some same day trades, my recap while be done throughout the day tomorrow as the day run wilds. Expect Max Domi to go to a top playoff team, whether it be Colorado or an eastern conference team; Joonas Korpisalo and Dean Kukan will most likely move.
More is coming…
CBJ Rumor Cannon
F Patrik Laine (RFA) [Cap Hit $7.5M] ANA, FLA, LA, NYI
G Joonas Korpisalo (UFA) [Cap Hit: $2.8M] COL, EDM, FLA, NJD, VGK
— Reported asking price: 2nd and 3rd round picks
F Max Domi (UFA) [Cap Hit: $5.3M] BOS, COL, NYR, OTT, PIT, TOR,
F Kevin Stenlund (RFA) [Cap Hit: $1.05M] EDM
F Jack Roslovic (RFA) [Cap Hit: $1,838,662]
D Dean Kukan (UFA) [Cap Hit: $1.65M]
Interested In:
F Brendan Gallagher (MTL)
D Jacob Chychrun (ARI)
F Dylan Strome (CHI)
D Travis Dermott (TOR) —> traded to Vancouver for 2022 3rd Round Pick (from Winnipeg Jets)
F Connor Garland (VAN)