Blue Jackets Score First But Lose 6-1 To Avalanche

By Coby Maeir on March 22, 2024 at 11:37 pm
Colorado Avalanche center Ross Colton (20) pushes the puck past Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) for a goal as left wing Miles Wood (28) and defenseman Damon Severson (78) look on in the second period at Ball Arena.
© Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
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Behind dominant performances from Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar, the Colorado Avalanche beat the Blue Jackets 6-1 on Friday at Ball Arena in Denver. 

  1 2 3 F
BLUE JACKETS 1 0 0 1
COL AVALANCHE 1 2 3 6

1st Period

Damon Severson opened the scoring with his seventh goal of the season at 4:28 from the left doorstep thanks to an incredible feed from Johnny Gaudreau.

Makar tied the game at 11:00 on the rush with a right-circle wrist shot, finishing off a tic-tac-toe sequence from Artturi Lehkonen.

Makar nearly scored his second of the game at 17:54 when his point shot on the power play hit the post. 

After that power play expired, Alex Nylander exited the box and hit the crossbar on the rush at 19:00.

The two teams were tied after 20 minutes with Colorado outshooting Columbus 14-5.  

2nd Period

Ross Colton gave Colorado the lead at 5:43 after stuffing home Zach Parise's right-circle shot. 

Rantanen doubled Colorado's lead at 7:07 with a fantastic deflection on Josh Manson's right-point wrist shot. 

Casey Mittelstadt had a golden opportunity to give Colorado a three-goal lead with a shot from the right doorstep but Elvis Merzlikins made a great save at 16:18. 

The Avalanche led 3-1 after 40 minutes and took a 37-12 advantage in shots on goal into the third period. 

3rd Period

MacKinnon made it 4-1 Colorado on a breakaway at 6:01 after Makar took the puck from Alexandre Texier and found MacKinnon up the ice. 

Rantanen scored his second of the game on the power play at 7:14 with a right-circle snapshot off a cross-ice feed from MacKinnon.

Valeri Nichushkin gave Colorado a 6-1 lead at 13:38 off the rush after making a nice move around Zach Werenski to drive to the net. 

With the 6-1 loss, the Blue Jackets fall to 23-35-12. 

Stats

  • Shots on Goal: CBJ 24-50 COL
  • Face-off %: CBJ 43.8-56.2 COL
  • Power play: CBJ 0/0-1/3 COL
  • Giveaways: CBJ 2-9 COL
  • Takeaways: CBJ 16-15 COL
  • Blocked shots: CBJ 24-11 COL
  • Hits: CBJ 18-26 COL
  • 5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
    • Expected Goals (xG): CBJ 1.92-4.63 COL
    • Shot Attempts (CF): CBJ 50-81 COL
    • Shots on Goal (SF): CBJ 24-43 COL
    • Scoring Chances (SCF): CBJ 20-49 COL
    • High-Danger Chances (HDCF): CBJ 6-24 COL

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 right back at it on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena against the Vegas Golden Knights at 10:30 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.

They'll continue their road trip in Arizona on Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.

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