Three Things: Blending The Lines, Provorov Leaves Game, Another One Gets Away

By Will Chase on December 7, 2024 at 8:15 am
Vancouver Canucks forward Kiefer Sherwood (44) celebrates scoring with forward Danton Heinen (20) and forward Teddy Blueger (53) against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the second period at Rogers Arena.
© Bob Frid-Imagn Images
2 Comments

The road troubles continue.

Pius Suter scored two goals and the Vancouver Canucks came back to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 on Friday night at Rogers Arena.

Yegor Chinakhov missed his fifth consecutive game due to an upper-body injury.

Kevin Lankinen stopped 30 shots on 32 attempts. Elvis Merzlikins made 12 saves on 16 attempts. 

Blending The Lines

It's everybody's favorite hockey phrase: The lineup blender.

After consecutive losses to the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers, Friday was a perfect time to juggle the lines and throw them in the blender.

It might have worked.

Columbus had about as good a first period as you can hope for with goals by Mathieu Oliver (8) at 7:10 and Damon Severson (6) at 12:18.

Cole Sillinger (14), Zach Aston-Reese (5), Ivan Provorov (7), and Kirill Marchenko (15) assisted on the goals.

Columbus outshot the Canucks 17-2 in the first period.

Provorov Leaves Game

Provorov left early in the second period following a trip by Elias Pettersson and an awkward collision into the boards. His thumb did not look well.

Provorov did not return to the game, forcing the Blue Jackets to play with five defensemen.

The rest of the period featured post-whistle scrums and Vancouver scored twice in the second to tie things 2-2. Brock Boeser (7) scored at 3:52 and Kiefer Sherwood (7) tied the game at 19:00 following a failed clearing attempt by Merzlikins.

Quinn Hughes (24), Vincent Desharnais (2), and Teddy Blueger (7) assisted.

We'll see how long Provorov is out of the lineup, but could Denton Mateychuk be a potential call-up?

In 22 games, Mateychuk has 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists).

Another One Gets Away

The game tied 2-2 going into the third period, things further unraveled for Columbus.

Suter (10) scored the first of his two third-period goals to make it 3-2 at 2:17 and give the Canucks its first lead of the night. Jake DeBrusk (12) scored on the power play to extend the 4-2 lead at 10:22 and Suter (11) scored the empty net goal at 18:55 to complete the 5-2 win.

The Blue Jackets have allowed an opposition power-play goal for a franchise-record 12th straight game. They allowed two goals to the Edmonton Oilers power play in Thursday's 6-3 loss to set the franchise mark at 11 consecutive games.

Connor Garland (15), Hughes (25), Boeser (9), and Pettersson (17) assisted on the third-period goals.

It's the Jackets' third-straight loss following a six-game point streak as they fall to 1-3-0 on the road trip and 3-9-2 away from Nationwide Arena this season. The Columbus penalty kill is 29th in the league (71.4%). From the beginning of the season through Nov. 11, the Blue Jackets kill ranked 12th (82.5%) in the league. Since Nov. 12, they are last in the league (61.4%).

Jets Grounded

The Blue Jackets conclude their five-game road trip at the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, Dec. 8 from Canada Life Centre. Puck drop is at 6:00 p.m. ET.

2 Comments

Konecny Scores Two, Flyers Pound Blue Jackets 5-3; Jackets' Five-Game Home Point Streak Halted

Philadelphia Flyers right wing Owen Tippett (74) celebrates his goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the first period at Nationwide Arena.

Game Day #28: Blue Jackets, With A Chance To Go Above .500, Back At Nationwide To Face Flyers Tuesday Night

Game Day #28: Elvis Merzlikins will man the net and Cole Sillinger is in the lineup as the Columbus Blue Jackets return home for a Tuesday night tilt against John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers.
View 2 Comments