The Columbus Blue Jackets remain hot.
Liam Foudy scored his first-career NHL regular season goal as the Blue Jackets won their second in a row, and three of four, with a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday at American Airlines Center.
Mathieu Olivier had his first-career multi-point game with a goal and two assists and Eric Robinson had a goal and an assist. Adam Boqvist also scored to continue a three-game point streak (two goals, two assists).
Jack Roslovic, Emil Bemstrom, and Sean Kuraly all assisted.
Ty Dellandrea scored for the Stars.
Joonas Korpisalo picked up his second straight win, making 28 saves. Scott Wedgewood made 33 saves.
The Blue Jackets won two coach's challenges in a game for the first time since the 2015-16 season—off-sides and goaltender interference in the second period—that wiped two would-be goals off the board for the Stars. The line of Robinson - Sean Kuraly - Olivier combined for seven points (two goals, five assists). Dallas has dropped four straight and has only scored five goals in their last four games.
Johnny's Streak Ends
The third-longest active ironman streak has ended.
Johnny Gaudreau missed his first game of the season for the Blue Jackets, and with that, his streak of 349 consecutive games played is over after sustaining a lower-body injury during Thursday's win over the Winnipeg Jets. Gaudreau had the third-longest active games played streak behind Phil Kessel (1,037) and Brent Burns (733).
Kuraly wore the 'A' on his sweater in Gaudreau's absence. Lane Pederson entered the Blue Jackets lineup for the first time this season after being acquired off waivers from the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 28 and played 9:08.
Rookie Scoring Power
Although none of these rookies factored onto the score sheet, this game featured high-flying rookie prowess.
From the Blue Jackets' perspective, they feature two double-digit rookie goal scorers—Kirill Marchenko with 14 and Kent Johnson with 12—and it's the third time that's happened. Serge Aubin and David Vyborny had 13 apiece in 2000-01 and Pierre-Luc Dubois (20) and Sonny Milano (14) did it in 2016-17. Johnson's 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) are the 10th most for a Blue Jackets rookie in their franchise history. Coming into play, Marchenko's 14 goals in his first 32 games are the most in Blue Jackets' history. Stick tap to Jeff Svoboda over on the Blue Jackets' official website for the notes.
For the Stars, Wyatt Johnston joins Johnson and Marchenko in the top 10 rookie scoring race. Entering the day, Johnson came in fourth in points and tied for fifth in goals with Anaheim Ducks' Mason McTavish. Marchenko ranks second in goals. Johnston came in tied for seventh in points (24 with Philadelphia Flyers' Noah Cates) and tied for third in goals (13 with Ottawa Senators' Shane Pinto).
Foudy's First (Regular Season) Goal
Liam Foudy scored his first-career NHL regular-season goal with the first-period tally at 17:41. Jack Roslovic moved into a third-place tie with Boone Jenner with his 30th assist, and Bemstrom picked up an assist on the play.
Boqvist from Kuraly and Oliver. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/H8EfehsPUQ
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) February 19, 2023
Prior to today, Foudy scored his only goal on Aug. 9, 2020, against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoff bubble.
Off To AZ
The Blue Jackets are in Arizona to face the Coyotes at Mullett Arena on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 8:30 pm ET. Arizona took the first meeting, 6-3, at Nationwide Arena on Oct. 25.
