Coming off their worst loss in almost a calendar year, the Columbus Blue Jackets (20-11-1) rebounded for a 6-4 win against Metropolitan Division rival New York Islanders (17-12-3) at Nationwide Arena.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISLANDERS | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| BLUE JACKETS | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
IN A PARAGRAPH
In a wild game filled with momentum swings, nice goals and huge saves, Columbus held off the visiting Islanders. A strong start led to a 3-0 lead for the Blue Jackets but the Islanders responded to tie it, only to watch Columbus retake the lead with two more goals. In the third, the Islanders drew one back but could never tie the score.
CBJ NOTABLES
- Zach Werenski increased his NHL-leading goal total for defensemen, scoring his 10th tally of the year. He is also second on the team behind Josh Anderson in goal-scoring. He added an assist for his fourth multi-point game of the year.
- Oliver Bjorkstrand had three assists, giving him a three-point night for the first time in his career.
- Alexander Wennberg had two assists, tying his total points mark in 13 games played in Novemberand December. He and Bjorkstrand also finished plus-3.
STAT ATTACK
Jack Johnson played his 400th game in union blue. ... Nick Foligno scored his 100th goal as a Blue Jacket, becoming the fifth CBJ player to reach that mark. ... The Blue Jackets had 15 of the final 16 shots on goal in the first period. ... Adding in the 5-0 win over the Islanders in the season opener, the Blue Jackets started the year on an 8-0 run against New York. ... Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky gave up three goals for the fifth time in the last six starts and at least four for the fourth time. ... With three assists, Artemi Panarin now has nine helpers in the last four games. ... With an assist, Cam Atkinson snapped a seven-game streak without a point. ... CBJ defensemen now have 23 goals on the year. ... Columbus improved to 14-3-1 when scoring first and 7-4-0 vs. the Metro. ... Perhaps the high-scoring game should have been no surprise as the two teams entered among the top five in the NHL in 5-on-5 scoring (NYI second with 72 goals, CBJ fifth with 66).
WHAT HAPPENED
New York had the jump for the first few shifts, but that didn't last long as Columbus quickly built a 2-0 lead that could have been more.
Werenski gave the Blue Jackets the lead 3:57 into the game on a beautiful play by both the talented defenseman and Panarin. Lukas Sedlak forced a turnover in deep then Panarin made a full lap around the offensive zone with the puck on his stick before letting go a centering pass that found Werenski in stride as he streaked to the net. Goalie Thomas Greiss was no match for his one-time finish, and the Jackets were up 1-0 on their first shot on net of the game.
Zach Werenski with his league leading tenth goal for a defenseman. Fantastic pass from Panarin. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/1Xd467hRK9
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 15, 2017
Werenski soon had another chance on a breakaway but Greiss stretched to make the save, but Columbus soon made it 2-0 at 6:23. Alexander Wennberg took the puck to the net and tried to jam it home, but it bounced off of Greiss' gear and landed in the crease, where Nutivaara slammed it home before the goalie could find it.
Jackets fans then had their chili with that rarest of creatures, a power-play goal, at 15:52 of the first. Werenski let go a shot from the center point with Boone Jenner screening in front, and the big rebound kicked out to the slot for Pierre-Luc Dubois to finish with little trouble.
A fluky goal scored by Josh Bailey exactly 5:00 into the second allowed the Islanders to cut their deficit to 3-1 and change momentum. Bailey fed John Tavares on the right wing before Tavares returned the pass. Bailey toe-dragged around Panarin to get to the slot only to fan on the shot, but the changeup fooled Bobrovsky, who couldn't prevent the puck from going between his legs.
New York made it 3-2 just 2:49 later as Casey Cizikas got on the board. Scott Mayfield's shot from the right point was deflected in front right to Cizikas, who quickly buried the puck before Bobrovsky had a chance to respond.
The Islanders kept the pressure on, and Bailey's second goal of the night made it 3-3. After a long shift in the offensive zone, Anders Lee centered the puck from behind the net, and Bailey found it and roofed a backhander over Bobrovsky at 13:52.
The game was a stalemate for only 1:11, though, before Seth Jones' restored the home team's lead. With New York defenseman Johnny Boychuk injured behind the play, the Jackets took off on a 3-on-1, and Seth Jones buried a pass from Atkinson over Greiss' glove.
Great movement up the ice. Bjorkstrand finds Atkinson then Atkinson sees that Jones is trailing the play all alone. Jones makes no mistake. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/rs9IsN3aE1
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 15, 2017
Tavares nearly made it 4-4 shortly thereafter, but Bobrovsky slid from post to post to make a glove save. Then, at 17:52, Foligno got to the slot and ripped a pass from Oliver Bjorkstrand past Greiss' blocker to make it 5-3. The Jackets had an extra attacker on the ice thanks to a delayed penalty call.
Bailey – who entered with an NHL-best-tying 30 assists but just five goals – completed his first career hat trick as he made it 5-4 at the 12:49 mark of the third. Right off a faceoff at the left dot as the Islanders began a power play, Bailey dug the puck out of the scrum and fired a laser off the bar and in.
New York would get no closer, though, as the Jackets killed off another penalty in the third and survived almost two minutes of empty-net time before Anderson filled the open cage with 1.0 seconds left.
ROSTER REPORT
For the second straight game, forward Markus Hannikainen and defenseman Gabriel Carlsson were healthy scratches for Columbus. Jordan Schroeder entered the lineup for injured centerman Brandon Dubinsky, with Boone Jenner moving to the middle. ... The defensive pair of Johnson and David Savard was split. Savard played with Scott Harrington while Johnson was with Nutivaara.
NEXT UP
The Blue Jackets hit the road for another Metro Division game, facing Carolina on Saturday for the second time this year in Raleigh and the fourth time overall.
