Luca Del Bel Belluz's first NHL goal and Jet Greaves' 38 saves highlighted the Blue Jackets' 6-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday to conclude their season.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAR HURRICANES | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| BLUE JACKETS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
1st Period
Del Bel Belluz opened the scoring with his first-career NHL goal on his first shot on goal at 3:37 after jumping out of the penalty box and firing a left-circle wrist shot past Spencer Martin. With a secondary assist on the goal, Zach Werenski set a single-season franchise record for assists by a defenseman with 45.
Welcome to the NHL, Luca!
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) April 16, 2024
Luca Del Bel Belluz makes the most of his late call up with the @BlueJacketsNHL. After serving a penalty, Del Bel Belluz steps up and scores the opening goal of the game.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/2Diz5DgwtI
Werenski doubled Columbus' lead with his 10th goal of the season at 5:24, cashing in on a rebound from the right doorstep.
Sending in the rebound.
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) April 16, 2024
After assisting on the @BlueJacketsNHL's opening goal, Zach Werenski scores on a rebound to double Columbus' lead over Carolina to 2-0 early in the first period.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/Qe0707cbqI
Jesperi Kotkaniemi cut Columbus' lead in half at 7:10 with a shot from in-tight after he got behind David Jiricek and received a nice pass from Maxime Comtois.
Carolina goal!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 16, 2024
Scored by Jesperi Kotkaniemi with 12:50 remaining in the 1st period.
Assisted by Max Comtois and Stefan Noesen.
Columbus: 2
Carolina: 1#CARvsCBJ #CBJ #CauseChaos pic.twitter.com/UmmQO5p74e
Teuvo Teravainen tied the game at 18:16 with a snapshot from the slot.
Carolina goal!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 16, 2024
Scored by Teuvo Teravainen with 01:44 remaining in the 1st period.
Assisted by Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Brent Burns.
Columbus: 2
Carolina: 2#CARvsCBJ #CBJ #CauseChaos pic.twitter.com/OULDlKhDmX
James Malatesta gave the Blue Jackets a 3-2 lead at 19:01 with his second goal of the season at the right doorstep thanks to a no-look between-the-legs pass from Mathieu Olivier.
Columbus goal!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 16, 2024
Scored by James Malatesta with 00:59 remaining in the 1st period.
Assisted by Mathieu Olivier and Sean Kuraly.
Columbus: 3
Carolina: 2#CARvsCBJ #CBJ #CauseChaos pic.twitter.com/XUCWDGxNor
Columbus took a 3-2 lead into the first intermission despite trailing 16-13 in shots on goal.
2nd Period
Teravainen tied the game with his second goal of the game on the power play.
Power play goal for Carolina!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 17, 2024
Scored by Teuvo Teravainen with 09:44 remaining in the 2nd period.
Assisted by Brent Burns and Stefan Noesen.
Columbus: 3
Carolina: 3#CARvsCBJ #CBJ #CauseChaos pic.twitter.com/gWx66UjO9G
Johnny Gaudreau scored his 12th goal of the year to put the Blue Jackets up 4-3 with a backhand wraparound goal at 12:18.
Columbus goal!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 17, 2024
Scored by Johnny Gaudreau with 07:42 remaining in the 2nd period.
Assisted by Justin Danforth and Zach Werenski.
Columbus: 4
Carolina: 3#CARvsCBJ #CBJ #CauseChaos pic.twitter.com/BIsH9Pxs6S
The Blue Jackets led 4-3 after 40 minutes while trailing 26-21 in shots on goal.
3rd Period
Alex Nylander doubled Columbus' lead with his 11th goal of the season at 0:47 with a bank shot from the left goal line off Spencer Martin and in.
Playing the carom perfectly.
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) April 17, 2024
Alex Nylander is in the perfect spot to slip the puck into the net after it caroms off the boards behind the goal and gives the @BlueJacketsNHL a 5-3 lead over the Hurricanes early in the third period.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/0cS98jOhyD
Werenski scored his second of the game and 11th of the season at 19:21 with a right-circle wrist shot off the rush that trickled through Martin.
With the 6-3 win, the Jackets finished the season 27-43-12.
Stats
- Shots on Goal: CAR 41-25 CBJ
- Face-off %: CAR 50-50 CBJ
- Power play: CAR 1/5-0/2 CBJ
- Giveaways: CAR 4-4 CBJ
- Takeaways: CAR 3-7 CBJ
- Blocked shots: CAR 10-15 CBJ
- Hits: CAR 9-10 CBJ
-
5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
- Expected Goals (xG): CAR 2.51-1.93 CBJ
- Shot Attempts (CF): CAR 50-37 CBJ
- Shots on Goal (SF): CAR 24-21 CBJ
- Scoring Chances (SCF): CAR 26-19 CBJ
- High-Danger Chances (HDCF): CAR 15-11 CBJ
Injury Update
- Boone Jenner is out.
- Adam Boqvist is out with an upper-body injury sustained on Mar. 14 against the Ottawa Senators. There is no timetable for his return.
- Carson Meyer is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
- Yegor Chinakhov is day-to-day with an upper-body injury he suffered on Mar. 12 against the Canadiens.
- Brendan Gaunce is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
- Kent Johnson has been placed on injured reserve with a torn labrum in his left shoulder that will sideline him for the remainder of the season. He underwent successful surgery on Mar. 7 and is expected to make a full recovery in six months.
- Patrik Laine entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Jan. 28 and will be away from the team indefinitely.
- Adam Fantilli suffered a calf laceration on Jan. 28 and is expected to miss eight weeks.
- Jake Bean is out for the season with a broken hand suffered on Apr. 4.
- Daniil Tarasov is out with an upper-body injury suffered on Apr. 4.
