| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
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0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
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CBJ GOALS: |
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Mathieu Olivier and Damon Severson scored in a first period dominated by the Columbus Blue Jackets, but the Vancouver Canucks scored five unanswered goals over the last two periods to pick up the 5-2 win Friday night.
It was Columbus' third straight loss as part of a five-game road trip that will conclude Sunday in Winnipeg.
Olivier and Severson's goals, just over five minutes apart in the middle of the opening frame, gave the Blue Jackets a 2-0 lead. Columbus had 17 of the 19 total shots on goal for the period.
According to head coach Dean Evason, it was "by far the best period of the year."
"It was awesome," added Evason.
But Vancouver would answer early and late in the second period, tying the game at 2-2 before adding three third-period goals.
"You have a start like that and you have the momentum going your way, you have to almost play a boring hockey game at that point," said Evason. "We didn't, and obviously they (Vancouver) gained momentum."
Columbus had to play a majority of the game with just five defenseman following an injury to Ivan Provorov early in the second after being tripped by Elias Pettersson. The team called it an upper-body injury, though broadcast cameras showed what appear to be a clear injury to his left thumb. He did not return after the trip, which came just 1:16 into the middle period.
Evason did not have an update after the game on Provorov.
In net, Elvis Merzlikins made 12 saves on 16 shots. Vancouver's 17th shot (and fifth goal) was an empty-netter. It was the first time this season that the Blue Jackets held an opponent to less than 20 shots on goal in a game.
Here's the details of how it all went down in British Columbia:
1st Period:
(7:10 — CBJ Goal): The Blue Jackets strike first on Olivier's goal that comes via a remarkable pass from Cole Sillinger. Great anticipation from Sillinger, who has the pass off his stick before he even looks towards Olivier waiting in front of the net. Jody Shelley called it an "elite play" on the FanDuel Sports Network broadcast, and that's about as good of a word to use as any. The goal was number eight on the season for Olivier; Sillinger gets the primary assist, Zach Aston-Reese the secondary.
Matty O's 8th goal of the season put the #CBJ on the board 1-0. It's okay to watch Sillinger's pass on repeat.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 7, 2024
Blue Jackets have expanded on that lead and now have a 2-0 lead with less than seven minutes left in the first. pic.twitter.com/E0rfNCo7Z5
(12:18 — CBJ Goal): Four-on-four hockey opens the ice up a little bit and that's exactly the catalyst behind this goal from Severson, his second in as many nights. Ivan Provorov finds Severson streaking down the ice and takes advantage of the open ice. Severson takes the puck near the blue line and a few strides later rips a 94mph shot past the stick side of Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen. Provorov gets the primary apple but Kirill Marchenko's gets an assist too, his 15th of the season.
A 94mph blast from Damon Severson doubles the #CBJ lead at 12:18 of the first. Assists from Ivan Provorov and Kirill Marchenko.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 7, 2024
Score remains 2-0 with 3:30 left in the opening frame. pic.twitter.com/2j3vIbOQnj
2nd Period
(1:16 — Provorov Injury): Vancouver's Pettersson goes off for a trip on Ivan Provorov, but in the trip, Provorov lands awkwardly on his left hand and leaves the ice almost immediately. The broadcast cameras showed Provorov's thumb looking less than pleasant, and just a few minutes later viewers were shown head trainer Mike Vogt speaking into the ear of coach Dean Evason. The words were hidden, but Evason's disappointed face was not. Provorov did not return.
(3:52 — VAN Goal): Brock Boeser gets one of the two Canucks' goals of the period early on in the second. Vancouver wins a faceoff in the Columbus zone and goes D-to-D on the first pass. The second defenseman there is Quinn Hughes, who takes the puck behind the net and then finds Boeser waiting near where the original face-off was. He beats Merzlikins to make it a 2-1 game.
(19:00 — VAN Goal): Merzlikins takes a huge risk by playing the puck was outside of the crease, and it doesn't work out. Before he can get back in the crease, Vancouver's Teddy Blueger gets the puck and passes to Columbus-born Kiefer Sherwood, who picks up one of the easier of his now seven goals on the season.
3rd Period
(2:17 — VAN Goal): Vancouver takes their first lead of the night on Pius Suter's 10th goal of the year. He gets a shot off from the low slot and Merzlikins gets a good piece of it, but not enough to stop it from slowly trickling into the back of the net to make it 3-2 Canucks.
(10:22 — VAN Goal): The Canucks get a fourth straight goal just over halfway through the third period, making it a 4-2 game. This time it's Jake DeBrusk on the power play, the 12th straight game in which the Blue Jackets have allowed a goal on the penalty kill. Hughes and Boeser get the assists, the second point of the night for both.
(18:55 — VAN Goal): Suter gets his second of the night, an empty-net goal with just over a minute left, to make it 5-2 Canucks.
| CBJ | GAME STATS | VAN |
|---|---|---|
| 32 | SHOTS | 17 |
| 41% | FACEOFFS | 59% |
| 0/5 | POWER PLAY | 1/2 |
| 1/2 | PENALTY KILL | 5/5 |
| 18 | HITS | 28 |
| 15 | GIVEAWAYS | 11 |
| 4 | TAKEAWAYS | 5 |
| 11 | BLOCKED SHOTS | 18 |
| ALL SITUATIONS ADVANCED STATS | ||
| 2.66 | EXPECTED GOALS | 2.46 |
| 76 | SHOT ATTEMPTS | 45 |
| 36 | SCORING CHANCES | 20 |
| 11 | HIGH-DANGER CHANCES | 11 |
|
DATA VIA: NHL.COM & NATURALSTATTRICK.COM |
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Stat Chat:
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Columbus outshot Vancouver by a 17-2 margin in the first period, their largest shot-margin of the season. The Blue Jackets also generated 31 of the 41 shot attempts, 12 of the 13 scoring chances, and had four of the five high-danger chances in the opening 20 minutes.
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Columbus ended the game with 76 shot attempts, compared to Vancouver's 45. But the Canucks were able to get more high-quality looks off, as evident by the 11-11 tie in high-danger chances for the game.
- Kent Johnson was on the ice for 21:57, a season-high and also the second-most of his NHL career. KJ nearly scored in the opening minutes of the game, but his shot on a bouncing puck went high of the open net.
Up Next:
One more on the road to conclude the five-game trip: the Blue Jackets are in Winnipeg for a 6:00 p.m. puck-drop Sunday against the Jets. Then it's back home for a Tuesday night game against the John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers.
