Cole Sillinger Scores In Third-Straight Game As Blue Jackets Beat Blackhawks 5-2

By Coby Maeir on March 2, 2024 at 10:56 pm
Columbus Blue Jackets center Cole Sillinger (4) moves the puck against Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Kevin Korchinski (55) during the first period at the United Center.
© Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
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Cole Sillinger extended his goal-scoring streak to three games and the Blue Jackets snapped their two-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Blackhawks at the United Center in Chicago on Saturday.

  1 2 3 F
BLUE JACKETS 2 2 1 5
CHI BLACKHAWKS 1 0 1 2

1st Period

Alexandre Texier opened the scoring at 0:33 with his ninth goal of the year after Seth Jones couldn't handle a pass in the defensive zone, leaving it for Texier to pick up and fire a wrist shot from the right slot past Arvid Soderblom.

Boone Jenner doubled Columbus' lead with his 19th tally of the season at 14:05 with a net-front deflection on Zach Werenski's wrist shot from the point. 

The Blackhawks responded at 17:32 when Philipp Kurashev took a feed from Connor Bedard after Bedard started the play by forcing an Alex Nylander turnover on the forecheck and fired a shot from the slot past Elvis Merzlikins. 

The Blue Jackets took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission along with a 13-9 advantage in shots on goal.

2nd Period

Mathieu Olivier put Columbus up 3-1 at 3:09 with his second goal of the season when he took a backhanded whack at a feed from Werenski from the left doorstep.

After Nylander took a loose puck in the slot and took the rebound from his shot behind the net, he found Sillinger at the left doorstep for his 11th goal of the season to extend his goal streak to three games at 11:51. 

The Blue Jackets led 4-1 after 40 minutes and took a 26-15 advantage in shots on goal into the third period.

3rd Period

Ryan Donato cut the Columbus lead to two at 6:18 when he took the rebound from Kurashev's breakaway attempt off the end boards and scored. 

Bedard had a fantastic opportunity to cut the Blackhawks' deficit in half after a takeaway but his shot from the right slot was stopped by Merzlikins at 10:57.

The Blackhawks pulled Soderblom for an extra skater at 17:18 

Johnny Gaudreau scored his ninth goal of the season on an empty net from the top of the right circle at 17:35.

With the win, the Blue Jackets improved to 20-30-10. 

Stats

  • Shots on Goal: CBJ 31-27 CHI
  • Face-off %: CBJ 46.9-53.1 CHI
  • Power play: CBJ 0/2-0/3 CHI
  • Giveaways: CBJ 3-4 CHI
  • Takeaways: CBJ 6-5 CHI
  • Blocked shots: CBJ 14-21 CHI
  • Hits: CBJ 13-20 CHI
  • 5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
    • Expected Goals (xG): CBJ 2.21-2.48 CHI
    • Shot Attempts (CF): CBJ 54-46 CHI
    • Shots on Goal (SF): CBJ 24-23 CHI
    • Scoring Chances (SCF): CBJ 28-26 CHI
    • High-Danger Chances (HDCF): CBJ 8-12 CHI

Injury Update

Next Up

The Jackets return home on Monday to face the Golden Knights at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio. 

The club will head to Pittsburgh to take on Sidney Crosby and the Penguins on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.

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