The Columbus Blue Jackets played well enough to win, but came up short in Calgary, losing 4-2 to the Flames.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| FLAMES | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
David Rittich was spectacular in net for the Flames, though he was bailed out by his goalposts on four separate shots. Calgary opened up the game with two quick goals, and held on for dear life in a third period that was largely dominated by the Blue Jackets.
Zach Werenski opened the scoring, tallying his 11th goal of the season on a 2-on-1. The defenseman received a beautiful pass from Artemi Panarin and elected to shoot as opposed to pass to Cam Atkinson, and he beat Rittich to the short side.
"I got my swagger backkkkkk."- Zach Werenski, more than likely.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/EDzC7hSNgI
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 20, 2019
Minutes later, Johnny Gaudreau scored his 35th goal of the year after a series of forgettable defensive plays by the Blue Jackets.
The road team was unable to escape the first period tied 1-1, as Andrew Mangiapane scored at the 19:52 mark to give the Flames a 2-1 lead heading into the intermission. Just 0:35 into the second period, the Flames extended their lead to 3-2 on a Michael Frolik goal.
Neither team was able to score again in the second period, but there were plenty of chances. The Blue Jackets thought they had scored on the power play to cut the deficit to 3-2, but after video review, the no-goal call was upheld.
At the 5:28 mark of the third period, Oliver Bjorkstrand scored on a beautiful shot on the power play to give the Blue Jackets life.
The Danish Dynamo!#CBJ pic.twitter.com/SLbuMSAgrd
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 20, 2019
The Blue Jackets dominated the 3rd period, forcing the Flames into numerous icings. The shots were 11-0 in favor of Columbus before the Flames registered their first shot of the period with just 7:11 left in regulation, but the road team was unable to tally the equalizer against Rittich.
Matthew Tkachuk scored on an empty-net goal to make it 4-2.
Injury Update
Ryan Murray's upper body injury kept him out of the lineup once again. Markus Nutivaara was held out of the game due to an illness. Captain Nick Foligno missed a second consecutive game due to a personal matter.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets continue their western Canada road trip, facing the Edmonton Oilers Thursday night at 9 p.m.
