| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
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1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
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1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
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CBJ GOALS: |
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Two nights after their first shutout of the season, the Columbus Blue Jackets were able to find the back of the net every period Thursday night.
It just happened to be about half as much as the Edmonton Oilers.
Leon Draisaitl scored twice, including one as part of a four-goal second period for the Oilers, as the Blue Jackets were doubled up by a final of 6-3 on Thursday night.
Two of those four goals in the second from Edmonton came on a game-shifting series of events. After Draisaitl's first goal of the game to give the Oilers their first lead of the night, Columbus head coach Dean Evason would challenge for goaltender interference.
The challenge appeared to be questionable as best from the television replays, particularly given the circumstances: like it or not, it would need to a fairly egregious play for the officials to take a Draisaitl goal away at home against Columbus. Add to that Columbus' struggling penalty kill, and it was anxious moments for the Blue Jackets bench and fans as they awaited a decision.
The goal stood.
"We obviously had a different opinion on what happened there, and we made the decision to challenge,” said forward Cole Sillinger. “Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way. But that’s part of the game."
The Oilers would connect on the power to play to double their lead, then add another goal less than three minutes later to go up 4-1.
Kevin Labanc, Damon Severson, and Cole Sillinger each scored for the Blue Jackets in the losing effort.
Daniil Tarasov, making his first start in nearly three weeks, allowed six goals on a total of 37 shots from the Oilers. The Blue Jackets were outshot 37-22, their second-largest margin of shots on goal in a game this season.
Here's how it all went down from the NHL's northernmost city:
1st Period:
(2:31 — CBJ Goal): Columbus has not had a hard time scoring goals, but the weird bounces and deflections aren't really something that's gone their way this season... until here. Labanc's shot pings and pongs off the right spots and finds the back of the net for an early, 1-0 Columbus lead. It would be their only of the game. The goal is Labanc's second of the season, with the assists come from Mikael Pyyhtia — his first of the season — and Zach Werenski, his team-leading 19th (and team-leading 27th point) of the season.
Columbus goal!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) December 6, 2024
Scored by Kevin Labanc with 17:29 remaining in the 1st period.
Assisted by Mikael Pyyhtia and Zach Werenski.
Edmonton: 0
Columbus: 1#CBJvsEDM #LetsGoOilers #CBJ pic.twitter.com/DBczOJmI63
(9:46 — EDM Goal): Sean Kuraly wins a faceoff to Tarasov's right against Connor McDavid — but the Blue Jackets aren't able to clear the puck to capitalize off Kuraly's win. Instead, less than ten seconds later, Zach Hyman connects to tie the game at 1-1 in his first game back since missing two weeks with an injury.
2nd Period
(2:22, 4:04, 6:53— EDM Goals): This went from a 1-1 game to a 4-1 game in a matter of 4:31 in the second period. Edmonton takes a 2-1 lead on Draisaitl's first of two on the evening, then the failed Columbus challenge put the Oilers on the power play. Mattias Ekholm scored there to make it a 3-1 Edmonton lead, and less than three minutes after that, Hyman adds to the Oiler fun, scoring his second of the night to make it 4-1 in favor of the Oilers.
(10:02 — CBJ Goal): More puck-luck for the Blue Jackets, this time with Severson the beneficiary. This isn't one to write home about: Sevo gets an average shot towards the net, it takes an odd bounce that Edmonton goalie Calvin Pickard has some trouble with, and it ends up in the back of the net to make it a 4-2 game just two seconds past the mid-point of the game.
Not the best period, but Sevo found a fortuitous bounce for the second #CBJ goal. Theyre down 5-2 after 40, though. pic.twitter.com/NR0TqMdRCx
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 6, 2024
(18:30 — EDM Goal): After killing a four-minute, double minor from Dante Fabbro, the momentum looked to be turning Columbus' way to set up a competitive third period — until Jeff Skinner made it a 5-2 game with just 90 seconds left before the second intermission. The Oilers made a good play to keep it in the zone and followed that up with some good work on the boards behind the net, with Skinner ending up with the puck unchallenged right in front of Tarasov.
3rd Period
(6:10 — CBJ Goal): Jordan Harris' first point as a Blue Jacket is a primary assist and starts with a hustle keep-in. He finds Sillinger just outside the high slot and he gets a shot off through traffic to cut into the lead and make it a 5-3 game in favor of the Oilers. It won't show up in the box score, but Justin Danforth and Mathieu Olivier did a great job of getting in Pickard's line of sight. It's probably a routine save for the Edmonton goalie without their efforts.
Sillinger gets his second point of the night on this goal to cut it 5-3...
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 6, 2024
...but as that gets typed, the Oilers strike on the power play for the second time in the game and make it 6-3. #CBJpic.twitter.com/kHrN6QkVYH
(13:37 — EDM Goal): It would take just nine seconds for Edmonton to strike on a late power play and make it a 6-3 game. It was their second power play tally of the game and Draisaitl's second goal of the game, putting the game out of reach for Columbus.
| CBJ | GAME STATS | EDM |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | SHOTS | 37 |
| 37% | FACEOFFS | 63% |
| 0/2 | POWER PLAY | 2/5 |
| 3/5 | PENALTY KILL | 2/2 |
| 15 | HITS | 12 |
| 11 | GIVEAWAYS | 10 |
| 4 | TAKEAWAYS | 2 |
| 17 | BLOCKED SHOTS | 16 |
| ALL SITUATIONS ADVANCED STATS | ||
| 1.96 | EXPECTED GOALS | 4.11 |
| 49 | SHOT ATTEMPTS | 65 |
| 17 | SCORING CHANCES | 34 |
| 6 | HIGH-DANGER CHANCES | 18 |
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DATA VIA: NHL.COM & NATURALSTATTRICK.COM |
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Stat Chat:
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The Blue Jackets penalty kill went 3-for-5 in the game. It was the 11th straight game (a new franchsie record) they allowed a power play goal, and the third consecutive game in which they allowed two (or more) power play strikes. That's a kill rate of just 62%.
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Meanwhile, on the Blue Jackets side of things, this marked the fourth consecutive game where they had two power plays or less. Can't score power play goals if you don't get power play opportunities.
- Werenski's 19th assist and 27th point of the season allowed him to keep the pace for an 89-point season. That would edge past Artemi Panarin's 2018-19 franchise record of 87 points.
Up Next:
Game four of the five-game road trip is a quick turn-around: the Blue Jackets travel to Vancouver for a Friday night battle against the Canucks. Puck drops from Rogers Arena at 10:00 p.m., Columbus time.
