Throw away Tuesday's game and start anew.
That's what the Columbus Blue Jackets did back home at Nationwide Arena on Thursday night against the always stingy New York Islanders, winning 3-2 in overtime.
The Islanders notched their first win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday and came in looking to continue to solidify themselves in the Metropolitan Division. Meanwhile, it was Elvis Merzlikins back between the pipes looking to continue a string of sound goaltending play shared by him and Joonas Korpisalo.
SOLID ROOKIE PLAY
Both teams missed on early power-play opportunities, including Columbus going 0-for-2 in the first period, but a better start to the game was something we were all eager to see. Could they capitalize? Yegor Chinakhov was trying to do his part.
No dice on the power play, but Bjorkstrand and Chinakhov had good opportunities. #CBJ
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) October 21, 2021
Columbus was outshot 7-0 in the first half of the opening period before starting to fight back with eight of its own. Luckily for the Blue Jackets, Korpisalo was up for the task as the 27-year-old made his season debut, keeping the most important number at zero on the scoreboard and stopping all 13 first period shots.
Chinakhov had one of the few great scoring chances against Detroit on Tuesday night and looks to be continuing his fine impression. Losing Max Domi after one game was less than ideal and though Chinakhov was going to play sooner or later, it's nice to see the young rookie holding his own thus far given the opportunity.
Yegor Chinakhov not being shy with the shot, which I think is pretty smart out of the youngster #CBJ
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) October 22, 2021
Chinakhov had 4 shots while playing 10:03. Not to be outdone, and looking for a bit of a bounceback himself after not playing much in the latter stages of Tuesday's game, Cole Sillinger earned his first-career NHL goal to give Columbus the 2-1 lead through 40 minutes.
He was the game's first star and had a team-high six shots in 17:17 of ice-time.
CELLY HARD, COLE. #CBJpic.twitter.com/9xL0P424TS
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) October 22, 2021
ELVIS HAS ARRIVED
Not to sound like a broken record, but among the early themes this season, strong Blue Jackets goaltending has been one of the more positive ones. The 8-2 win over Arizona was just one week ago and it feels like a month ago based on how hard scoring has been to come by.
To be fair, they did face tough goaltenders in the form of Philipp Grubauer, Thomas Greiss, and Ilya Sorokin. To make things more difficult, Barry Trotz is known for his team's stingy defensive play.
The one goal that got through Merzlikins in the second by Scott Mayfield came five-hole, bouncing off a defender in front, but he was otherwise a brick wall stopping 34 of 36 shots.
Elvis Merzlikins is on his game tonight.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) October 22, 2021
So far this season, he's seen 73 shots and saved 70.
That's a .959 save percentage. #CBJ
Though the Jackets were outshot 26-18 through two periods and 16-8 in the second, two goals 33 seconds apart from Boone Jenner and Sillinger were the difference at that point. Patrik Laine's overtime winner was his second this year already.
SPECIAL TEAMS SUCCESS
Aside from the blowout against the Coyotes, Columbus has killed off all eight penalties since, including three more tonight
While it felt like a bit of a penalty-fest, among both teams, it's encouraging to see the goaltending and defense doing their part so far. Now we need to see the offense get going. And tonight was a positive in that department.
On that note, the Blue Jackets did continue a streak in converting on the power play in every game played, minus their win against the Seattle Kraken, in which they were never on a power play.
Hurricane Warning
Jake Bean will get to face his former club on Saturday night when the Carolina Hurricanes come surging into town to face the Blue Jackets at 7:00 pm ET. Carolina is off to a 3-0-0 start after their 4-1 win Thursday over the Montreal Canadiens from Bell Centre.
