| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
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1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
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CBJ GOALS: |
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After an exciting but low-scoring first forty minutes of action, the Columbus Blue Jackets and St. Louis Blues scored a games worth of goals in a matter of minutes during a third period barrage Saturday night.
With the score 2-0 Columbus entering the third period of play as a result of goals from Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko, the teams combined for eight goals in the final frame — including five goals in a span of just 3:40 — en route to a 6-4 Blue Jackets victory.
The flurry came out of nowhere. First it was Mikael Pyyhtia, who scored a short-handed goal at 3:44 of the third to make it 3-0 Blue Jackets. St. Louis' Jordan Kyrou would answer just 70 seconds later on the power play to make it 3-1. Adam Fantilli made it 4-1 with his 8th of the season 31 seconds later, but the Blues would answer again as Cam Fowler scored 90 seconds later to make it 4-2. Columbus would go up by three again with Voronkov's second goal of the night, this time just 29 seconds after Fowler's goal.
The Blues made it 5-3 with 7:06 left in the game on Colton Parayko's 7th of the season, then created tense moments for the sellout crowd at Nationwide Arena when Brayden Schenn scored with 3:44 left in the game, making it a one-goal game at 5-4.
Mathieu Olivier, who in the second period got the crowd on its feet with a decisive victory in a fight against Tyson Tucker, did so again with an empty-net goal — his 10th of the season — with 1:01 left in the game, sealing the victory for the Blue Jackets.
Defensemen Zach Werenski and Ivan Provorov combined for five assists in the winning effort. It was Provorov's first multi-point game of the season and his first three-point game as a member of the Blue Jackets.
Werenski's assist on Voronkov's first goal was his 15th straight with a point at home, giving him the longest streak by a defenseman in the 21st century. He was previously tied with Mike Green, who had 14 straight in the 2009-10 season.
The last time a defensemen went 15+ straight with a point at home: Ray Bourque in the 1992-93 season.
Sean Monahan also had three assists in the game, joining Voronkov, Werenski, and Provorov in the multi-point efforts.
Here's the period-by-period breakdown of a wild one to end a Columbus homestand:
1st Period:
(19:01 — CBJ Goal): It looked like the game was going to have a scoreless opening period until Voronkov's 14th goal of the season put the Blue Jackets in front 1-0 just inside the final minute of the frame. The sequence would start with good work from Ivan Provorov to protect the puck from the Blues as he works his way down the boards. He gets it to Werenski, who sees Voronkov (and Sean Monahan) in Blues' goalie Joel Hofer bubble. It's Voronkov who pokes it home on the rebound for the first goal of the game.
1-0 #CBJ as the second period gets started.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 5, 2025
Here's the goal Voronkov's 14th of the season from Werenski and Provorov. pic.twitter.com/71g9fImfQz
2nd Period
(2:15 — CBJ PP Goal): The Blue Jackets double their lead with Marchenko's 16th goal of the season, a power-play strike that made it five out of their last six games with a power play goal for Columbus. It took just 14 seconds this time around. Kent Johnson is to the left of Hofer, gets a good look over to Monahan in the slot, who immediately gets it over to Marchenko on the right of Hofer. Marchy's shot grazes off St. Louis defenseman Colton Parayko and into the back of the net to make it 2-0 Blue Jackets.
Kirill Marchenko gives the #CBJ a power play goal to make it five of their last six games with at least one PP strike. The goal put the Blue Jackets in front 2-0, where we stay with less than 8 minutes left in the second frame. pic.twitter.com/UD0CfHOwp5
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 5, 2025
(13:00ish): With the game at 2-0 and around 7:00 minutes left in the second, Elvis Merzlikins denies Jordan Kyrou a couple of times in impressive fashion and then keeps a loose puck out of the net to maintain the Blue Jackets lead. Merzlikins finished the game with 29 saves on 33 St. Louis shots.
What an effort#CBJ pic.twitter.com/M8qFYDjdpD
— FanDuel Sports Network Columbus (@FanDuelSN_CBUS) January 5, 2025
3rd Period
(3:44 — CBJ SH Goal): An excellent burst of speed and effort from Pyyhtia while short-handed extends the Columbus lead to 3-0. It's the fourth goal of the season Pyyhtia, and with the assist that sprung him, Provorov gets his second point of the night and his first multi-point game of the season.
This goal came at 3:44 of the 3rd to make it 3-0 #CBJ...
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 5, 2025
...but each team has scored twice since then and we're now in a 5-2 game with still more than 11 minutes left. pic.twitter.com/BA4CaaHdVX
(4:54 — STL PP Goal): The Blues get on the board for the first time in the game with a power-play goal from Kyrou, his team-leading 17th of the season.
(5:25 — CBJ Goal): It would take just 31 seconds for the Blue Jackets to answer and restore the three-goal lead. Fantilli sees the Blues in a line change and gets a good dish from Werenski from behind Merzlikins all the way to just outside the Blues zone. After the game, Fantilli said that he and Werenski talked about that exact opportunity in recent weeks.
After St. Louis makes it a 3-1 game, Fantilli restores the three-goal lead just 31 seconds later to make it 4-1 #CBJ.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 5, 2025
Both teams would score in quick order after this, so it's 5-2 and that's where we remain with 8:50 left.pic.twitter.com/aHfhvsTAdl
(6:55 — STL Goal): Fantilli's response 31 seconds after the Blues get on the board is met with a goal by Cam Fowler just 90 seconds later, again cutting into the Columbus lead — this time 4-2...
(7:24 — CBJ Goal): ...but Voronkov response to Fowler's goal just 29 seconds after that, putting the Blue Jackets in front by three again — this time 5-2. It's Voronkov's second of the night.
Voronkov gets his second goal of the night with at 7:24, which at the time extended the #CBJ lead to 5-2.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 5, 2025
But the Blues are making it tense. They've scored twice since then, and it's 5-4 with 3:05 left in P3. pic.twitter.com/BxhN5nx12z
(12:54, 16:13 — STL Goals): The Blues would cut the lead to 5-4 after the goals by Parayko and Schenn.
(18:59 — CBJ EN Goal): Mathieu Olivier's 10th goal of the season comes via an empty-net, sealing the deal in the Blue Jackets victory. Provorov (along with Cole Sillinger) would get an assist on the empty-net goal, giving Provorov the second three-point game of his career.
| STL | GAME STATS | CBJ |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | SHOTS | 39 |
| 55% | FACEOFFS | 46% |
| 1/2 | POWER PLAY | 1/2 |
| 1/2 | PENALTY KILL | 1/2 |
| 21 | HITS | 14 |
| 14 | GIVEAWAYS | 16 |
| 3 | TAKEAWAYS | 9 |
| 18 | BLOCKED SHOTS | 24 |
| ALL SITUATIONS ADVANCED STATS | ||
| 3.47 | EXPECTED GOALS | 3.94 |
| 69 | SHOT ATTEMPTS | 69 |
| 31 | SCORING CHANCES | 28 |
| 17 | HIGH-DANGER CHANCES | 17 |
| Data via NHL.com & NaturalStatTrick.com | ||
Stat Chat:
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Columbus scored six or more goals of the ninth time this season, in game 40 of the season. They scored 6+ just eight times total last season.
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Werenski's two-point game was the fourth time in his last six games that he's scored at least two points. He's now up to 45 points in 40 games, on pace for 92 points. That would easily best Artemi Panarin's 87-point franchise record.
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Despite the four-goal period for the Blues in the third, their expected goals in the final frame was only 1.42 — slightly less than their 1.53 xGF in the opening period. Merzlikins was dynamite in the first two periods.
- Both teams were dead-even on shot attempts (69) and high-danger chances (17). Both teams were also 1/2 on the power play.
Up Next:
For the first time this season, the Blue Jackets will travel to Pittsburgh to face Sidney Crosby's Penguins. Columbus won the first game between the two, 6-2, in November at Nationwide. Puck-drop from the PPG Paints Arena is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday.
