Blue Jackets Shut Out Penguins; Yegor Chinakhov Scores Game-Winning Goal

By Jacob Nitzberg on September 27, 2021 at 9:29 pm
Sep 27, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets forward Yegor Chinakhov (59) celebrates with forward Cole Sillinger (34) after scoring a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at PPG Paints Arena.
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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Well, that was fun.

It's been a while since the Blue Jackets last played. 142 days, to be exact.

Tonight, they were back on the ice, and they brought home a win in their preseason opener. Key goals from Yegor Chinakhov and Adam Boqvist spelled the offense, and timely goaltending from Jean-Francois Berube and Jet Greaves stymied the Penguins all night to earn a shutout.

  1 2 3 F
BLUE JACKETS 1 0 2 3
PENGUINS 0 0 0 0

The Blue Jackets weathered an early storm from the Penguins, as Berube stood on his head to deny several scoring chances. Then, Chinakhov did what he does best.

Cole Sillinger found Scott Harrington on the blue line, then Harrington saw Chinakhov in space. The Russian winger moved in and uncorked a wrister from distance that beat Penguins netminder Tristan Jarry.

The second period saw the Blue Jackets outshoot the Penguins, 10-9, but neither club was able to find a goal in the middle 20 minutes. The third period began with the Blue Jackets still leading, 1-0.

In the final frame, the Blue Jackets added to their lead. Alexandre Texier found Adam Boqvist with a nifty feed from below the goal line, and Boqvist provided the finish to give the Blue Jackets some breathing room.

Emil Bemstrom sealed the win for the Blue Jackets with an empty-net goal to make it 3-0 with 2:17 remaining. The youthful roster saw the rest of the game out like veterans. It was an impressive win for the Blue Jackets, who put out a team with minimal NHL experience.

Next Up

The Blue Jackets will continue their preseason slate tomorrow against the Buffalo Sabres at Nationwide Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. ET.

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