As the injured list seemingly grows by the day, the beat goes on.
The Columbus Blue Jackets continued their six-game homestand on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena as they welcomed in the surprising Montreal Canadiens. Entering play with their second win in less than a week over the Philadelphia Flyers—a 5-4 overtime win on Tuesday—the Blue Jackets entered Thursday's game with points in three straight.
The Canadiens entered the game 8-7-1 (17 points) in the Atlantic Division and came off a 5-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils at Bell Centre on Tuesday night, which snapped a three-game winning streak.
Joonas Korpisalo made the start, stopping 38 of 42 shots in the 6-4 win. Sam Montembeault stopped 23 of 28 shots.
Humming Along
The Blue Jackets hoped to get through Thursday's game without any injuries.
Already reeling with a lengthy list of players on injured reserve, the Jackets added a few more players to the list when it was announced early Thursday that Elvis Merzlikins would be out for one-to-two weeks after he left Tuesday's game. Jake Bean also left the win over the Flyers and while a definitive timeline of his injury has not been announced, it doesn't sound good.
Per #CBJ HC Brad Larsen:
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) November 17, 2022
- Korpisalo starts in net
- Roslovic back in the lineup
- Merzlikins out one-to-two weeks
- Bean still being evaluated, but Larsen said it doesnt look good
There was good news as Emil Bemstrom did play after missing Wednesday's practice. He was a game-time decision entering Thursday's game and wound up among the starters.
The Blue Jackets have had 71-man games lost due to injury after 167-man games lost all of last season. Still, the Blue Jackets are continuing to find ways to have success.
It was a chaotic game as the second period featured all seven combined penalties between the two teams in the middle frame and a slew of them inside the final few minutes. The period ended with the Canadiens scoring the tying goal to even the score at two. However, Mathieu Olivier and Arber Xhekaj settled things once and for all with a scrap to officially end 40 minutes of play.
pic.twitter.com/YS0olySnZF #CBJ
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 18, 2022
Olivier later scored his first career Blue Jackets goal in the third period. The club also got goals from Cole Sillinger and Gus Nyquist in the first period before a third-period explosion between both clubs.
A note I spent way too much time looking up -- last night, Mathieu Olivier became the first #CBJ player since Patrik Laine on Feb. 13, 2021, vs. Chicago to have both a goal and a fighting major in the same game.
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) November 18, 2022
Boone Jenner gave the Jackets a 3-2 lead at 6:36. Brendan Gallagher tied the score at three at 9:27. Sean Kuraly regained the Blue Jackets' 4-3 lead at 10:09. Olivier extended the lead to 5-3 at 11:09. Nick Suzuki cut the deficit to one at 11:17. Kuraly's second goal of the game sealed the win on the empty-net goal at 17:47.
Kuraly with an awesome goal. pic.twitter.com/7F0qnStm1a #CBJ
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 18, 2022
Pure snipe. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/4um7n4HSkO
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 18, 2022
The Jackets outscored Montreal 4-2 in the third period.
#CBJ has 12 players with a point tonight but only one with multiple points (Kuraly at 2-1-3).
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) November 18, 2022
Korpisalo had another game making at least 34 saves as has been the case in all four of his starts this year. While he'd prefer to allow fewer goals, he made several key stops and thwarted many chances. Natural Stat Trick had the Canadiens leading the 5v5 expected goals edge: 2.78-2.01. Per MoneyPuck, Korpisalo's goals saved above expected was 0.08.
The Blue Jackets won the battle in blocked shots (18-15), hits (18-8), and takeaways (10-4). Columbus' six goals are a season-high.
Boone Stays Hot
Yup. Jenner has been a man on a mission.
His third-period goal is his team-leading seventh of the season, third in two games, and sixth in the last five games. The whole scoring sequence was a beauty.
The whole scoring sequence. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/yllCcU2hEm
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 18, 2022
Johnny Gaudreau scooped up the puck and completed the pass to Kent Johnson, who found Jenner for the go-ahead goal. With an assist, Johnson has eight points (three goals, five assists) and came into the night tied for 10th among rookies in scoring. Gaudreau adds to his team-leading 14 points and eight assists.
Jack Roslovic Returns
After sitting as a healthy scratch during Tuesday's game, Roslovic was back in the lineup on Thursday. But he needs to perform well to keep his spot.
While Roslovic didn't crack the scoresheet, he had two shots, led the game with four blocked shots, had two hits, and a takeaway in 12:22. He was four-of-10 from the face-off circle.
Winged Wheel
The Blue Jackets continue their six-game homestand when the Detroit Red Wings enter Nationwide Arena on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 7:00 pm ET. The Red Wings are in San Jose to face the Sharks tonight at 10:30 pm ET.
