| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | SO | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DUCKS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | XOO | 2 |
| BLUE JACKETS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | XXO | 1 |
For the first time this season, the Columbus Blue Jackets went to overtime and didn't walk away with two points.
Rickard Rakell scored in the final round of the shootout to give the Anaheim Ducks a 2-1 victory at Nationwide Arena, sending the Blue Jackets to 13-11-1 on the season.
Both regulation goals came in the first period. Alexandre Texier got the scoring started at the 8:02 mark of the first period. The goal was his ninth of the season, a new career-high despite Columbus being less than one-third of the way through the season.
NHL Video Highlight - Alexandre Texier scores against the Anaheim Ducks to make it 1-0. pic.twitter.com/y53sXr4VHD
— Blue Jackets Game Bot (@CBJGameBot) December 10, 2021
Isaac Lundestrom would tie the game at 1-1 just over two minutes later on an unassisted goal, continuing the Blue Jackets bad habit of giving up a goal within minutes of scoring one of their own.
Sean Kuraly and Eric Robinson had the assists on Texier's score, and the trio was sharp throughout the night in a losing effort. Texier finished as the second star of the game, in front of Lundestrom and behind Ducks goalie John Gibson, who stopped 33 of 34 shots on the night.
Goaltending was sharp at the other end of the ice, too, with Elvis Merzlikins stopping 25 of Anaheim's 26 shots for the game. It was the lowest shots on goal total by a Blue Jackets opponent since they held the Seattle Kraken, Columbus' opponent Saturday, to just 20 shots in the Blue Jackets' second game of the season.
Here are three things from the Blue Jackets' shootout loss:
ALEXANDRE THE GREAT
Texier's goal puts him on pace for 30 goals, and the 22-year-old could be having the breakout season that the organization has been waiting on. Thursday's game was the fifth time in the last six games that Tex has seen more than 16 minutes of ice time — matching his total from the first 19 games of the season. Head coach Brad Larsen is giving Texier more opportunities and so far, he's making the most of it. Columbus is pretty balanced when it comes to who sees time on the ice, so while Texier (along with Kuraly and Robinson) are thought of as being on the "fourth line", their minutes (and opportunities) would suggest otherwise.
SHARP GOALTENDING, SHARPER DEFENSE
Merzlikins was just fine in net tonight, but the Columbus defense had one of their better games to date. They blocked quality scoring chances, kept Anaheim from establishing the forecheck, and despite losing Adam Boqvist in the second period due to an upper-body injury, brought intensity throughout the entire game. Columbus was smart, too — they gave the Ducks' 5th-ranked power play just one opportunity, and had only five giveaways for the game, their lowest total since Thanksgiving. By comparison, they had 11 in Tuesday's 5-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
EXTRA HOCKEY
After 27 overtime losses over the past two seasons (126 games, compliments of COVID-19), going to overtime has been a wide-eyed moment for the 5th Line in recent years. This year? Not so much. Thursday's overtime loss was their first of the year, after the first five came up in the Blue Jackets' favor. But even in defeat, Columbus had a strong overtime period. They nearly won the game on multiple occasions, and there's no reason to think this team won't walk away with two points the next time a game goes beyond 60 minutes.
UP NEXT:
Columbus has played five of their last seven games on the road — and now will have five in a row away from Nationwide Arena. Their longest road trip of the season begins Saturday with a 10:00 p.m. start against the Seattle Kraken.
