The losing streak ends at seven.
Behind a power-play goal by Emil Bemstrom, a short-handed goal by Gustav Nyquist, and an even-strength goal by Kirill Marchenko, the Blue Jackets snapped their seven-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over the Blackhawks.
1st Period
During the second media timeout, the Blue Jackets played a tribute video for former Jackets Seth Jones and Max Domi.
#CBJ tribute video for Seth Jones and Max Domi pic.twitter.com/pbVdaBdxgE
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 31, 2022
Johnny Gaudreau had a golden opportunity to open the scoring the game at 10:34 with a shot at a wide-open net from the bottom of the left circle but he was robbed by the stick of a diving Alex Stalock.
ALEX STALOCK
— NHL (@NHL) December 31, 2022
A late submission for the save of the year! pic.twitter.com/AGi4cri8Sz
The Blackhawks opened the scoring at 11:33 when Mathieu Olivier's clearing attempt did not exit the defensive zone, leading to an Andreas Athanasiou wrist shot from the top of the left circle that beat Joonas Korpisalo.
#Blackhawks Athanasiou goal pic.twitter.com/4UeupDQqGx
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 31, 2022
The Blue Jackets tied the game on the power play at 18:40 on a one-timer from the left circle by Bemstrom off of a cross-ice feed from Gaudreau.
#CBJ Bemstrom (4) goal pic.twitter.com/lDjosTW81U
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 31, 2022
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| CHI BLACKHAWKS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
The teams were tied at one after one period of play with the Jackets holding a 15-9 edge in shots on goal.
2nd Period
Nyquist scored short-handed on the rush in front of the goal-mouth at 3:50 off a nice feed from Jack Roslovic to give the Jackets a 2-1 lead.
#CBJ Nyquist (7) goal pic.twitter.com/OO7Y9obniB
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 31, 2022
Roslovic had a chance to double the Jackets' lead on a breakaway at 6:35 but missed high.
Marchenko doubled the Columbus lead at 19:57 when he sniped a wrist shot from the wrist circle past the far side of Stalock.
#CBJ Marchenko (5) goal pic.twitter.com/O6c2fitUh3
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 31, 2022
The Blue Jackets took a 3-1 lead into the third period along with a 29-14 advantage in shots on goal.
3rd Period
Roslovic had another big chance to score from the slot at 7:00 off a great drop pass from Bemstrom but hit the goalpost.
The Blackhawks pulled Stalock at 17:30 to play as Olivier took a penalty so they could have a six-on-four advantage for two minutes.
Domi hit the post on a wrist shot from the right circle at 18:53.
Nyquist scored his second of the game on an empty net at 19:21 to put the nail in the coffin. It was his second short-handed goal of the game, marking the first time in franchise history that a player scored two short-handed goals in a game.
#CBJ Nyquist (8) goal pic.twitter.com/OMx0r1HLwb
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) December 31, 2022
The Blue Jackets won 4-1 and improved to 11-22-2 on the season.
Stats
- Shots on Goal: CHI 27-38 CBJ
- Faceoff %: CHI 59.1-41.9 CBJ
- Power play: CHI 0/5-1/3 CBJ
- Takeaways: CHI 6-5 CBJ
- Giveaways: CHI 3-4 CBJ
- Blocked shots: CHI 17-5 CBJ
- Hits: CHI 19-20 CBJ
-
5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
- Expected Goals (xG): CHI 1.2-2.02 CBJ
- Chances (CF): CHI 29-53 CBJ
- Shots (SF): CHI 16-29 CBJ
- Scoring Chances (SCF): CHI 9-25 CBJ
- High-Danger Chances (HDCF): CHI 3-6 CBJ
Injury Update
Patrik Laine remains out with an illness. He has not played since Dec. 23.
Daniil Tarasov is day-to-day with an upper-body injury he suffered in Friday's practice.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets will hit the road and travel to Canada's capital to face the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on Bally Sports Ohio and 97.1 FM The Fan.
The Jackets return home to face the Washington Capitals on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and 97.1 FM The Fan.
