BOO-ne Jenner came up big tonight.
On Sunday (and Halloween) night, the Blue Jackets took on the Devils in New Jersey, hoping to avoid their second-straight loss. As the game progressed, the Blue Jackets developed a 2-1 lead in the second period. After two unanswered goals from the Devils, the Blue Jackets found themselves down 3-2 late in the third period and needing a spark.
Enter Jenner.
Devils defenseman Ty Smith attempted to flip the puck out of the Devils' zone, but Jenner was quick to intercept it with his glove. He was pressured by Smith, Michael McLeod, and Tomas Tatar, but that was of no importance to Jenner. With the puck on his forehand, Jenner wristed one past Scott Wedgewood's blocker to tie the game with 5:19 remaining.
BOONE JENNER. LEADER OF MEN. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/rxrsI1ebqY
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) October 31, 2021
"I was just coming off the bench and saw the play developing," said Jenner after the game. "(I) saw the puck in the air and tried to bat it down. It went a little bit ahead of me there and then I just tried to get it on net as quick as I could and maybe try to trick the goalie. I'm happy it went by him."
It was Jenner's fifth goal of the season, which leads the team. After Jenner's tally, the Blue Jackets pushed for the go-ahead goal but instead got themselves in trouble. With 3:33 remaining in the third period, Vladislav Gavrikov took a crosschecking penalty. While the Blue Jackets were killing that off, Scott Harrington took a high-sticking penalty with 2:07 remaining. With some excellent work on the penalty kill, the Blue Jackets were able to kill off the ensuing 34-second 5-on-3, as well as the rest of the Harrington penalty.
"(The penalty kill) was huge," said Jenner. "You don't want to go to a five-on-three in that situation but the guys stepped up, all of the penalty killers, and continued on when it was five-on-four after that. Korpi was a big part of that."
Joonas Korpisalo started slowly, and by the midway mark of the game, he had already given up three goals. The second and third goals could have (and should have?) been stopped, but Korpisalo locked in after Dougie Hamilton made it 3-2 Devils at the 9:54 mark of the second period.
"I wasn't happy with the couple of goals in the second period," said Korpisalo after the game. "I think I could be better on those...(it was) probably not the best game from us, but it's a huge win, and it's great to not lose two in a row."
