For the second time in three nights: That was a wild one.
Two nights after a comeback, overtime win against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Columbus Blue Jackets faced another top-tier opponent on Saturday night at Nationwide Arena.
The result was the same: a comeback, overtime win — this time with a 5-4 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Here are three things from a game that looked like a loss... until it wasn't:
Fabbro Paying Dividends
Imagine a month ago, hearing that Dante Fabbro be finding a comfort zone with Zach Werenski on the Blue Jackets top defensive pairing.
Well, here we are.
Fabbro got the scoring started for Columbus with an unassisted snipe just 2:04 into the game.
Fabbro's goal to give the #CBJ a 1-0 lead just over two minutes in. His second in six games with the Blue Jackets and already his 4th point since joining the club. pic.twitter.com/8fDtU3WpxW
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 24, 2024
“I don’t think that’s ever happened to me in my entire life," said Fabbro of the goal. "I just saw their guy diving in and made a move ... I saw (Adam Fantilli) on the other side, but I think in my mind, I was thinking shoot the whole way."
In just his sixth game with Columbus, Fabbro's goal was his second with the team and already his fourth point. This comes just a couple of weeks after being waived by the struggling Nashville Predators, who have won just two of their six games since releasing Fabbro and sit just a point shy of the worst record in the league.
Take these items into consideration:
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The 26-year-old has a +6 plus/minus since joining the team and is yet to have a game where he finished in the negative.
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In the 89 minutes Fabbro and Werenski have shared the ice together in 5-on-5 play, they've outscored the opposition by a 7-4 margin.
- Fabbro's 25:36 on the ice was just a dozen seconds shy of his career high, and his ice time has increased in each of the last five games.
Now consider that skating with Werenski means a significant chunk of Fabbro's time on the ice is coming against the top six forwards of the opposing team.
Head coach Dean Evason summed it up best after the game: "He just goes about his business and eats minutes and is a sound hockey player.”
KJ: All The Way Back
Two goals in his first game back Thursday was a pretty good indication that Kent Johnson was back, but he admitted after the game that he still needed to work a little more to get fully back to game-speed.
Mission accomplished.
Johnson was on the ice for 19:38 in the win over the Hurricanes, an increase of nearly five minutes from the 14:58 he saw against the Lightning just two nights earlier. He also had another multi-point night, this time with a pair of assists on goals by Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko, to make it nine points in six games.
Specifically, it was the first of those two assists that really is worth a little extra attention. Look at the vision Johnson displays in setting up Voronkov on the power play strike:
Dmitri Voronkov's fifth goal of the season comes on the power play and would give the #CBJ their third lead of the game.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 24, 2024
Not to be outdone, Carolina ties it (also on the power play) just three minutes later. We're 3-3 halfway through.pic.twitter.com/VktnJI6bPA
Johnson has picked up a point in every game he's played in, and his 5.31 points per 60 minutes trails only Carolina's Martin Necas (5.97) in that category amongst forwards with over 60 minutes of ice time this season.
This season is shaping up to be a breakout one for KJ, who has earned the trust of Evason and is getting opportunities everywhere on the ice that the 22-year-old didn't get under the last regime.
Look out.
Point-A-Game Paces
Marchenko's two-goal night put him at 20 points through 20 games — but he's not the only one on the team with 20 in 20. Both Sean Monahan and Zach Werenski picked up an assist Saturday night, giving both players their 20th point of the season, as well. If that sounds like unchartered territory, that's because it is. This is the first time in franchise history that Columbus has had three 20-point scorers through the club's first 20 games.
