The Blue Jackets' top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Boone Jenner, and Alex Nylander each recorded multi-point games as the Blue Jackets beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| SJ SHARKS | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
1st Period
Jenner opened the scoring at 17:41 with his 21st of the season with a backhand finish on a two-on-one rush started by a great feed from Damon Severson to Gaudreau, who found Jenner at the doorstep.
There's that Johnny-Boone chemistry!#CBJ pic.twitter.com/wxxlCnkPCA
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) March 16, 2024
Columbus led 1-0 after 20 minutes despite trailing 11-9 in shots on goal.
2nd Period
Nylander scored his seventh goal of the year and doubled Columbus' lead at 0:40 with a right-circle wrist shot after receiving a stretch pass from Ivan Provorov. No player has scored more goals in their first 11 games with the Blue Jackets than Nylander.
Alexander Nylander extends the @BlueJacketsNHL's lead to 2-0!#CBJ pic.twitter.com/YU26qFuP2t
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) March 17, 2024
Fabian Zetterlund put San Jose on the board at 11:48 after settling a puck off a deflected shot and shooting it past Daniil Tarasov.
Fabian Zetterlund sets up in front and buries his 18th goal of the year, cutting San Jose's deficit to 1!#SJSharks pic.twitter.com/xtEEQQaha4
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 17, 2024
Gaudreau extended the Blue Jackets' lead back to two with his 11th goal of the year at 15:03 when he took Nylander's shot that went wide at the right doorstep and slid it past Magnus Chrona.
Johnny Gaudreau restores the Jackets lead with a heads-up goal in tight!#CBJ pic.twitter.com/dScqlg8wV9
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 17, 2024
The Blue Jackets led 3-1 after 40 minutes despite trailing 22-16 in shots on goal.
3rd Period
Henry Thrun cut the Columbus lead in half at 11:42 with a wrist shot from the right slot off the rush.
HENRY THRUN WITHIN ONE pic.twitter.com/YITuGWOrGo
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) March 17, 2024
Nylander sealed the Blue Jackets' win with his eighth of the season, scoring an empty-net goal at 18:55.
Walking in and pushing the lead to 4-2!#CBJ pic.twitter.com/VBqzNytii2
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) March 17, 2024
With the 4-2 win, the Blue Jackets improved to 23-33-11.
Stats
- Shots on Goal: SJS 42-20 CBJ
- Face-off %: SJS 45.2-54.8 CBJ
- Power play: SJS 0/3-0/1 CBJ
- Giveaways: SJS 1-5 CBJ
- Takeaways: SJS 4-7 CBJ
- Blocked shots: SJS 18-19 CBJ
- Hits: SJS 9-19 CBJ
-
5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
- Expected Goals (xG): SJS 3.56-1.60 CBJ
- Shot Attempts (CF): SJS 62-42 CBJ
- Shots on Goal (SF): SJS 33-17 CBJ
- Scoring Chances (SCF): SJS 33-21 CBJ
- High-Danger Chances (HDCF): SJS 19-5 CBJ
Injury Update
- Adam Boqvist is out with an upper-body injury sustained on Thursday against the Ottawa Senators. There is no timetable for his return.
- Sean Kuraly is week-to-week with a lower-body injury sustained on Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens.
- Yegor Chinakhov is day-to-day with an upper-body injury he suffered during Tuesday's against the Canadiens.
- Justin Danforth suffered a concussion on Mar. 7. There is no timetable for his return.
- Kent Johnson has been placed on injured reserve with a torn labrum in his left shoulder that will sideline him for the remainder of the season. He underwent successful surgery on March 7 and is expected to make a full recovery in six months.
- Patrik Laine entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Jan. 28 and will be away from the team indefinitely.
- Adam Fantilli suffered a calf laceration on Jan. 28 and is expected to miss eight weeks.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets are back at it on Sunday when they host the Winnipeg Jets at 6 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
The club will kick off its five-game road trip on Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
