An eventful night in Columbus saw an NHL debut for a Columbus native, plenty of physicality and flaring tempers, and...another loss for the Blue Jackets.
A homecoming for Meyer
The night started off as a happy homecoming for forward Carson Meyer, who grew up in Powell, Ohio and tonight debuted for his hometown team.
Meyer played three-plus minutes in a game that was largely disrupted by penalties, and the Blue Jackets shortened their bench to three lines for much of the second half. He will travel with the team to Philadelphia tonight and could play tomorrow against the Flyers.
This guy is making his NHL debut tonight. Congrats to Carson Meyer, getting the call from his hometown team. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/2Nf6Ubsheq
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) April 4, 2022
Meyer grew up in the AAA Blue Jackets program and went on to play college hockey at Miami (Ohio) before transferring to Ohio State. He was drafted by Columbus in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL entry draft, 179th overall.
He spent 26 games with the Cleveland Monsters, Columbus' AHL affiliate, during the 2020-21 season. Meyer racked up nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points in 26 games. This season with Cleveland, Meyer has collected 16 goals and 11 assists for 27 points in 57 games.
Meyer joined Sean Kuraly and Jack Roslovic as AAA Blue Jackets products to suit up for the Blue Jackets this season. Cole Sillinger, you may have heard, was born in Columbus.
Just three Ohioans living out their dream with their hometown team.
— NHL (@NHL) April 4, 2022
Cc: @sean_kuraly, Jack Roslovic (@JRoslovic96), Carson Meyer (@72cmeys) pic.twitter.com/HSHw84pAnH
The Physicality
In the first period, Boston forward Brad Marchand hit defenseman Andrew Peeke up high towards the head, leaving him lying on the ice for a moment.
Brad Marchand with a big hit that injures Andrew Peeke pic.twitter.com/C99yaQJVGo
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) April 4, 2022
Jake DeBrusk scored shortly after, while Peeke was still down on the ice. But thankfully for Columbus, Peeke was able to return to action and finished the game.
"We really wanted this win, obviously they did too, and we knew an objective of ours was to come out with a hot start, come out playing physical, and... you know that's what happens," Peeke said of the spirited play.
Andrew Peeke is back on the #CBJ bench as we get ready to start the second period.
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) April 5, 2022
But the physicality didn't stop there, as the two teams continued to rough each other up and piled up the penalty minutes. Amidst all the chaos, Boston forward Trent Frederic laid a hit on Cole Sillinger, triggering a reaction by Jakub Voracek. Voracek was so irate that he received a 10-minute misconduct for showing his displeasure.
"Obviously we stood up for ourselves, which is good, but I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of getting tired of getting run over like that," Voracek said.
Peeke made sure that Marchand didn't get away with his earlier hit against him by getting a shot of his own in at one point.
"I'm proud of the way we played tonight after that Marchand-Peeker hit," Werenski said.
However, Werenski wasn't a fan of the play continuing as Peeke was on the ice. If you remember, a similar incident happened with Werenski during the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"(The officials') job is to protect the players and I think when a guy's down like that (and) not really moving, I think the play should be blown dead no matter what the circumstances are," Werenski said. "I've voiced that in the past and I still feel that same way."
A tightly-contested series
Monday night's matchup at Nationwide Arena was the third of three meetings between the two teams this season. Boston went 3-0, but all three games were, in essence, one-goal games deep into the proceedings. Two of the three games went beyond regulation.
Boston escaped with a 5-4 a shootout victory Mar. 5 at Nationwide Arena. Then on Saturday night, Boston skated to a 5-2 win on home ice at TD Garden before completing the sweep Monday.
Head coach Brad Larsen won't fault the Blue Jackets' effort despite not being rewarded with results of late.
"I thought they played extremely hard again tonight, and we're right there, one shot away," Larsen said. "It's unfortunate we give it away there at the end, but that's how it goes."
