Blue Jackets hold off Chargers to end homestand – Hockey Writer – Columbus Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets need a win to make a difference in their first three home games. In the end, they held off a late charge with the Chargers.

Kirill Marchenko became the first Blue Jackets player to score five goals in his first five games of the season. It was the game-winning goal as the Blue Jackets withstood a late charge from the Lightning to win 3-2. With this victory, the Blue Jackets improved their season record to 2 wins, 3 draws and 0 losses.

The story of this game was that the Blue Jackets dominated the Chargers for much of the game.

game review

The Blue Jackets need to get back into their game, which requires using their work ethic to their advantage. Two key moments early helped them accomplish that mission.

First, Boone Jenner stood up for his teammates. Then Mathieu Olivier dropped the gloves with 6-foot-9 Curtis Douglas to wake up the arena. Olivier ultimately defeated Douglas. That energy helped the Blue Jackets open the scoring.

On his 23rd birthday, Kent Johnson opened the scoring. His teammates Jenner and Adam Fantilli fired the puck toward the net. Johnson followed the match and defeated Jonas Johnson.

It was Johnson’s first goal of the season. That gave the Blue Jackets much-needed early momentum. Lightning then quickly counterattacked.

Ryan McDonagh’s long-range shot eluded goalkeeper Jet Greaves to tie the game. Anthony Cirelli then launched a power play to give the Lightning a 2-1 lead. The energy of the early days is gone. The Blue Jackets need to find a way to regain momentum.

Everything said during this period is valid. The Blue Jackets dominated the second quarter. They defeated the Chargers 14-3. In the end, they rewritten the score to 2-2 with Damon Severson’s goal. Olivier feeds Severson from this position to restore momentum.

Only 1 minute and 15 seconds into the third quarter, Marchenko rewritten the score to 3-2. The goal became the game winner. He took a pass from Voronkov and found space past Johnson.

The Chargers controlled the game for much of the remainder of the third period, looking for the game-tying goal. Greaves stopped all 15 shots he faced and earned his first win of the season with 22 saves on 24 shots. Johnson stayed blitzing all night and stopped 28 of 31 tackles.

The Blue Jackets clashed multiple times during timeouts in the third quarter. Head coach Dean Evason said they received multiple messages, including streamlining the game and preparing for the Chargers’ 6-on-5 at the end of the game.

After the horn sounded, the puck hit the net, causing chaos. Twenty minutes into the game, both teams were ruled minors. After the game, Greaves said “that’s it” when asked about that moment.

The Blue Jackets will have Sunday off and resume practice Monday morning before flying to Dallas to face the Stars on Tuesday night. The Chargers got some much-needed rest. They will host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.