Three Things: Easy As 1-2-3, Perfect When It Matters, Going Against The Trends

By Will Chase on March 29, 2025 at 8:15 am
Columbus Blue Jackets center Kent Johnson (91) scores a goal on Vancouver Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen (32) during the shootout at Nationwide Arena.
© Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images
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Don’t count them out.

Kent Johnson scored the only shootout goal and Elvis Merzlikins stopped all three shooters as the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Vancouver Canucks 7-6 on Friday night at Nationwide Arena.

The win snaps the Blue Jackets’ four-game home losing streak.

Easy As 1-2-3

Like Monday's game against the New York Islanders, the opposition scored first. This time, Vancouver took a 3-0 lead, scoring three first-period goals in 4:35, before the comeback of all comebacks.

Linus Karlsson scored his second of the year with a power-play goal at 8:51. Kiefer Sherwood (16) and Conor Garland (26) assisted. Garland is on a three-game point streak (one goal, two assists).

Brock Boeser picked up his 24th at 10:35, and just as fast as the goal occurred, a scrum broke out, resulting in penalties to both clubs. Karlsson was assessed two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct, served by Jonathan Lekkerimaki. Karlsson was also assessed a minor for roughing. Dante Fabbro received a roughing minor.

Quinn Hughes (53) and Pius Suter (18) picked up the assists. Suter is on a three-game point streak (one goal, six assists).

Down 2-0 and on the power play, the Jackets did not score and instead received another two-minute minor as Damon Severson went to the box for tripping at 12:43.

This set up Jake DeBrusk's 24th goal of the season on the power play to give the Canucks the 3-0 lead at 13:26. Boeser (22) and Suter (19) assisted. DeBrusk is on a four-game point streak (one goal, three assists).

If you thought this one was over, well, we saw this episode on Monday.

Head coach Dean Evason must have flipped over a table or something during the intermission.

In the second period, the Jackets scored three goals in 8:10 to tie things up 3-3.

Boone Jenner scored his third of the year at 0:34. Denton Mateychuk (5) and Erik Gudbranson (1) added the helpers. Jenner is on a three-game goal streak and three-game point streak (four goals, one assist). Gudbranson’s assist is the 100th of his NHL career.

Kirill Marchenko scored his team-leading 27th at 4:54. Sean Monahan (30) and Fabbro (13) assisted. Monahan is on a six-game point streak (one goal, 10 assists) going back to Dec. 31.

Fabbro added another point with his sixth goal at 8:44. Cole Sillinger (21) and Matthieu Olivier (12) picked up the helpers. The game was Sillinger's first since Feb. 27 (upper body).

Both teams continued to trade goals with Tyler Myers (6) getting a short-handed goal on a double minor penalty at 11:23 to give the Canucks a 4-3 lead into the second period intermission. Sherwood (17) and Suter (20) grabbed the assists.

Perfect When It Matters

This game wasn’t a highlight reel for goalies, but Merzlikins stepped up once again when it mattered. We ran the credits after Monday’s win, and it was a carbon copy on Friday.

Both goaltenders struggled to keep the opposing offense at bay, but Merzlikins was perfect when it mattered most, doing just enough to backstop his team into overtime and beyond to get his team the crucial win.

Making 31 saves on 37 shots for the game, Merzlikins kept Vancouver off the board in overtime and then stifled the three shootout shooters to improve to 5-0 in shootouts this season. He's only allowed one shootout goal all year. Columbus is 6-1 in the shootout this season.

Going Against The Trends

Attributing to the Blue Jackets' success this season has been strong play at home and relatively fast starts.

It's no secret the Jackets have slumped over the past month, going 4-7-1, but have won consecutive games for the first time since Feb. 27-March 1. They're 3-6-1 in their last 10 games but have benefited with luck as the rest of the Eastern Conference has struggled in trying to nail down the final wild card spot.

With one of the better home records at 21-9-5, it was surprising to see Columbus struggle to win at home with Friday's win being their first at Nationwide Arena since Feb. 25, a 6-4 win over the Dallas Stars, breaking a stretch of four straight losses in the friendly confines.

Columbus is also one of the better teams in the league when it comes to scoring first, which they've done 38 times, good for 12th in the NHL. They've gone eight straight games in which the opponent has scored first, and haven't scored first since their 7-3 win at Madison Square Garden on March 9. 

Right Back At It

The Blue Jackets battle the Ottawa Senators for the first time all season on Saturday, March 29, at 7 p.m. ET from Canadian Tire Centre. Occupying the first Eastern Conference wild card spot, Ottawa has a six-point lead over the second spot, which the Blue Jackets (75 points) currently possess. The Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers also have 75 points, but Columbus holds down the second wild-card spot due to playing fewer games.

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Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Denton Mateychuk (5) and Ottawa Senators left wing Fabian Zetterlund (20) battle for control of the puck in front of Blue Jackets goalie Daniil Tarasov (40) in the first period at the Canadian Tire Centre.
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