Luca Del Bel Belluz Scores in NHL Debut As Blue Jackets Beat Hurricanes 6-3 To Finish 2023-24 Campaign

By Coby Maeir on April 16, 2024 at 9:39 pm
Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Jet Greaves (73) stops the shot attempt of Carolina Hurricanes center Martin Necas (88) during the first period at Nationwide Arena.
© Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports
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Luca Del Bel Belluz's first NHL goal and Jet Greaves' 38 saves highlighted the Blue Jackets' 6-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday to conclude their season. 

  1 2 3 F
CAR HURRICANES 2 1 0 3
BLUE JACKETS 3 1 2 6

1st Period

Del Bel Belluz opened the scoring with his first-career NHL goal on his first shot on goal at 3:37 after jumping out of the penalty box and firing a left-circle wrist shot past Spencer Martin. With a secondary assist on the goal, Zach Werenski set a single-season franchise record for assists by a defenseman with 45.

Werenski doubled Columbus' lead with his 10th goal of the season at 5:24, cashing in on a rebound from the right doorstep.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi cut Columbus' lead in half at 7:10 with a shot from in-tight after he got behind David Jiricek and received a nice pass from Maxime Comtois.

Teuvo Teravainen tied the game at 18:16 with a snapshot from the slot.

James Malatesta gave the Blue Jackets a 3-2 lead at 19:01 with his second goal of the season at the right doorstep thanks to a no-look between-the-legs pass from Mathieu Olivier.

Columbus took a 3-2 lead into the first intermission despite trailing 16-13 in shots on goal.

2nd Period

Teravainen tied the game with his second goal of the game on the power play.

Johnny Gaudreau scored his 12th goal of the year to put the Blue Jackets up 4-3 with a backhand wraparound goal at 12:18.

The Blue Jackets led 4-3 after 40 minutes while trailing 26-21 in shots on goal.

3rd Period

Alex Nylander doubled Columbus' lead with his 11th goal of the season at 0:47 with a bank shot from the left goal line off Spencer Martin and in.

Werenski scored his second of the game and 11th of the season at 19:21 with a right-circle wrist shot off the rush that trickled through Martin.

With the 6-3 win, the Jackets finished the season 27-43-12.

Stats

  • Shots on Goal: CAR 41-25 CBJ
  • Face-off %: CAR 50-50 CBJ
  • Power play: CAR 1/5-0/2 CBJ
  • Giveaways: CAR 4-4 CBJ
  • Takeaways: CAR 3-7 CBJ
  • Blocked shots: CAR 10-15 CBJ
  • Hits: CAR 9-10 CBJ
  • 5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
    • Expected Goals (xG): CAR 2.51-1.93 CBJ
    • Shot Attempts (CF): CAR 50-37 CBJ
    • Shots on Goal (SF): CAR 24-21 CBJ
    • Scoring Chances (SCF): CAR 26-19 CBJ
    • High-Danger Chances (HDCF): CAR 15-11 CBJ

Injury Update

  • Boone Jenner is out.
  • Adam Boqvist is out with an upper-body injury sustained on Mar. 14 against the Ottawa Senators. There is no timetable for his return. 
  • Carson Meyer is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
  • Yegor Chinakhov is day-to-day with an upper-body injury he suffered on Mar. 12 against the Canadiens. 
  • Brendan Gaunce is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. 
  • 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 Mar. 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.
  • Jake Bean is out for the season with a broken hand suffered on Apr. 4. 
  • Daniil Tarasov is out with an upper-body injury suffered on Apr. 4. 
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