Game one of 82 is in the books for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Johnny Gaudreau.
During Wednesday's 4-1 opening night loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on the road, Gaudreau led all forwards, playing 20:11, with two shots on goal and two takeaways as he looks for his first point on the season.
"Thought we came out, played hard there in the first, obviously took the lead there," Gaudreau said. "They scored a big goal there at the end of the second to make it 2-1, which it's tough giving up goals in the last two minutes of periods.
"I thought our start was good but not good enough."
Of course, among the bigger takeaways from Wednesday's game was Patrik Laine leaving the contest for the rest of the night after a hit along the boards in the second period. Out 3-4 weeks with an elbow sprain, Laine was the lone goal scorer for the Blue Jackets, firing a laser 11 seconds into the second period.
PATTY!! pic.twitter.com/xP1sy88NJc
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) October 13, 2022
A replay of what happened with Laine pic.twitter.com/W6EIfw9pBv
— CBJ Center (@CBJcenter) October 13, 2022
The loss of Laine for the rest of the game surely impacted the Blue Jackets as players look to find chemistry with one another early on.
"You don't know who you're playing with the next shift," Gaudreau said. "Rotating in and out all night, so it was a little confusing there and hopefully it's nothing too serious."
How did Gaudreau feel about his first game as a Blue Jacket?
"I felt fine," Gaudreau said. "Obviously (the Hurricanes) are a good team, the offense wasn't there as much as I would have liked. We can all be better starting with myself, and then hopefully go home and play against a really good team on Friday night and get a win there."
The 0-1-0 Tampa Bay Lightning will be awaiting the Blue Jackets for the home opener on Friday at Nationwide Arena at 7:00 pm ET.
After a back-and-forth first period for both the Blue Jackets and Hurricanes, there was a sense of momentum for the Blue Jackets in the second period, starting with Laine's goal.
"We were really moving our feet, our line there," Gaudreau said. "Two or three shifts in a row we were in their zone, making plays, getting good opportunities. Then he went down and you never know who you're playing with on the next shift."
The Blue Jackets also had a go-ahead goal taken off the board when Cole Sillinger's tally was overturned for offsides after the Hurricanes won their challenge.
COLE SILLINGER IS JUST SILLY
— CBJ Center (@CBJcenter) October 13, 2022
Unfortunately this was ruled offsides.. pic.twitter.com/CoeJvturB0
Gaudreau and the Blue Jackets will look to get back on track at home on Friday.
#CBJ lines today at morning skate:
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) October 14, 2022
Gaudreau-Jenner-Danforth
Chinakhov-Roslovic-Voracek
Nyquist-Sillinger-Johnson
Robinson-Kuraly-Olivier
Werenski-Boqvist
Gavrikov-Peeke
Bean-Gudbranson
While the first line isn't what anyone envisioned for game two, maybe Gaudreau will at least have a chance to get comfortable with his linemates and hopefully, the Nationwide Arena cannon, pretty soon.
