| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
 |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
CBJ GOALS: |
||||
For the first time this season, the Columbus Blue Jackets were shutout on home ice in a 4-0 defeat Thursday night at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights.
Things looked bright early for the Blue Jackets: heading into the first television timeout of the night, with 11:28 left in the period, they had a 16-0 advantage in shot attempts and were up 6-0 in shots on goal.
Things began to turn when Vegas scored on their first shot of the game, a power-play goal for one of the NHL's best when up a man.
Less than four minutes later, the Blue Jackets would get a four-minute man-advantage opportunity after Denton Mateychuk took a high-stick from Vegas' Pavel Dorofeyev.
It was a chance to pull even after the Blue Jackets had already outplayed the Knights early, but Columbus came up empty on the opportunity and two of the three best opportunities on the power play came from the Golden Knights.
"It was frustrating for everybody because the way we were playing didn't dictate that we should be down in this hockey game," said head coach Dean Evason.
"We've gotta find a way to score on a four-minute power play," said Evason. "Special teams are a big factor obviously in this hockey game."
The Golden Knights would add to their lead late in the period to go into the first intermission up 2-0, then push the lead to 3-0 in the second period before adding an empty-netter in the closing minutes to seal the 4-0 win.
Defenseman Jake Christiansen left the game in the second period and did not return. After the game, Evason confirmed it was an upper-body injury and that he would not play Saturday.
Here's how the Blue Jackets were dealt a blow at home by Vegas:
1st Period:
(12:00 — VGK Goal): It takes the Golden Knights exactly 12 minutes to get their first shot attempt of the night — and it goes in. The league's second-ranked power play connects; Nicolas Roy with his 9th of the season to give Vegas a 1-0 lead.
(19:01 — VGK Goal): Vegas doubles their lead to 2-0 in the final minute of the first. The Knights win the faceoff and go to work, quickly getting the puck behind the net. Reilly Smith gets a clean shot off from the left dot which Elvis initially saves, but Brandon Saad gets the rebound and uses his backhand to score Vegas' second of the period.
2nd Period:
(12:17 — VGK Goal): Dorofeyev gets his 26th of the season to make it a 3-0 Vegas lead. The Knights easily enter the zone and no one sees Dorofeyev trailing into the zone. He gets one off from inside the left circle and beats Merzlikins.
3rd Period:
(15:38 — VGK Goal): Not that they needed it, but the Golden Knights get an empty-netter with just over four minutes left to make it a 4-0 game. Alex Pietrangelo's fourth of the season sends most of the remaining Nationwide Arena faithful for the exits.
| VGK | GAME STATS | CBJ |
|---|---|---|
| 29 | SHOTS | 27 |
| 41% | FACEOFFS | 59% |
| 1/3 | POWER PLAY | 0/3 |
| 3/3 | PENALTY KILL | 2/3 |
| 11 | HITS | 31` |
| 7 | GIVEAWAYS | 22 |
| 5 | TAKEAWAYS | 3 |
| 21 | BLOCKED SHOTS | 7 |
| ALL SITUATIONS ADVANCED STATS | ||
| 3.50 | EXPECTED GOALS | 2.55 |
| 48 | SHOT ATTEMPTS | 62 |
| 26 | SCORING CHANCES | 19 |
| 13 | HIGH-DANGER CHANCES | 6 |
| Data via NHL.com & NaturalStatTrick.com | ||
Stat Chat:
-
Sometimes, it's simple: the Blue Jackets had more than three times the number of giveaways as the Knights (22-7) and the Knights had three times the number of blocked shots as the Blue Jackets (21-7).
-
Down 3-0 in the third period, the Blue Jackets managed just six shots on goal — the fewest they had in any period. Vegas, meanwhile, had a game high 14 in the final frame.
- In addition to it being the first shutout on home ice, it was also just the third game this season in which the Blue Jackets failed to score at least two goals. October 2023 was the last time Columbus was shutout at home.
Up Next:
The homestand continues Saturday night with the last of four meetings this season between the Blue Jackets and New York Rangers. Puck-drop is slated for 7 p.m.
