The Columbus Blue Jackets were the first team in the NHL to reach 41 games tonight, meaning they’re the first team to their halfway point. It was also 90’s throwback night at Nationwide Arena, which gave Jeff Svoboda the opportunity to share this sobering stat:
Here’s how the front nine’s finale went down.
First Period
The Wild would come out flying tonight, as the visitors would have a 9-2 shots advantage around the seven minute mark. However, they weren’t able to generate any dangerous chances of note. The Jackets would then take control; their first chance would come at the 7:30 mark, as Kirill Marchenko was unable to finish a wraparound that Marc-Andre Fluery was way out of position for, before Cole Sillinger would bang the puck in off a netfront feed. 1-0 Jackets!
BLUE JACKETS GOAL – Cole Sillinger from Jake Bean and Adam Boqvist – 8:09 1st Period
Right after the goal, Columbus would have a four-minute powerplay, as Matt Boldy drew blood on Justin Danforth. While they were unable to score, the powerplay actually looked decent! The second unit, consisting of Sillinger, Marchenko, Kent Johnson, Yegor Chinakhov, and Adam Boqvist, was especially dangerous looking. However, shortly after, Alexandre Texier would get nabbed for holding the stick, and Minnesota would capitalize four seconds into their powerplay chance.
WILD POWERPLAY GOAL – Matt Boldy from Brock Faber and Joel Eriksson Ek – 14:48 1st Period
The last five minutes of the period were much more even, with both teams getting rushes but neither team getting any particularly good opportunities. One thing to note was Mattieu Olivier and Jon Merrill started feuding this period, and looked close to dropping the gloves a couple times. Something to keep an eye on.
Second Period
The second period started with a bang, as Sillinger got his second of the night 17 seconds in, thanks to Marchenko creating a turnover and dropping him a filthy setup pass.
BLUE JACKETS GOAL – Cole Sillinger (2) from Kirill Marchenko – 0:17 2nd Period
After some fisticuffs from Olivier and Merrill (told you to watch that) led to a bad CBJ powerplay, the Blue Jackets would continue to dominate the game 5-on-5. The Chinakhov-Sillinger-Marchenko line was almost constantly dangerous, while Adam Fantilli, Johnny Gaudreau, and Kent Johnson created chance of their own. After ending the first down in shots 11-7, the Jackets would be tied in that stat by the five minute mark of the second.
Good things can’t last forever, though. Erik Gudbranson would be nabbed for tripping near the halfway point, and Columbus improved their kill time from four seconds to 1:01.
WILD POWERPLAY GOAL – Matt Boldy (2) from Mats Zuccarello and Brock Faber – 10:15 2nd Period
After their goal, it was Minnesota’s turn to dominate the game. After being tied 14-14 in shots, the Jackets would end the second down 22-17. Daniil Tarasov again played dazzlingly to keep it even. Columbus finally pulled off a successful powerplay to end the period after a too many men call to escape the period.
Third Period
The good news? The Blue Jackets played 15 minutes of an outstanding third period. Jake Bean took a high sticking penalty 1:42 in, which then had to be killed. But after that, the Blue Jackets played like a bat out of hell. Fantilli would have a golden opportunity, with Fluery out of his net, but Marco Rossi was able to get down and block it. The Wild got their chances too, but Columbus was not turtling here.
With 5:51 to play, Boqvist capped an amazing return game by drawing a penalty. A few seconds later, Cole Sillinger called game.
BLUE JACKETS HAT TRICK POWERPLAY GOAL – Cole Sillinger (3) from Adam Boqvist – 14:15 3rd Period
Or, he would’ve called game in any other market. Any other team closes this game out. Any other team rewards a young star breaking his back carrying them with a win. Not this team. Instead, the most Blue Jackets sequence of events ever occurs.
The Blue Jackets kept playing excellent hockey after the hat trick goal. Minnesota tried to pull Fluery three times and was unable to. But on the third attempt, Justin Danforth would get a breakaway as Fluery left the ice. Literally nothing in his way. Fleury scrambled back, but make no mistake: Justin Danforth missed a wide open, empty net on a breakaway. The puck rang around the boards. Ivan Provorov fumbled it at his own blue line. Ryan Hartman recovered it. Marcus Johansson ties the game with 1:32 to go.
WILD GOAL – Marcus Johansson from Ryan Hartman – 18:28 3rd Period
Like, come one man. Any other team.
Overtime
After some excellent back-and-forth, with actually logical lines from Columbus (11-13-27, 4-59-78, 59-91-22, 96-86-27), Fluery made one last, game-breaking save. Off the next faceoff, Matt Boldy would get a hat trick of his own to end the game.
Jackets return to action Tuesday in Winnipeg. Projected temperature is a balmy -9 degrees Fahrenheit.