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Game #52 Recap: Jackets score mammoth victory

Jan 31, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Dmitri Voronkov (10) misses the puck after it was blocked by Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) during the first period at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images

The Columbus Blue Jackets and Utah (insert future mascot here) faced off for the very first time on Friday night. The Jackets were looking for their very first win on the second leg of a back-to-back. Not only did they finally get that monkey off their backs, but they did it in dramatic fashion. A come-from-behind win ended with a third OT victory in a row.

1st Period

Severson went to the box early for tripping. It was completely avoidable, caused by recklessly waving his stick while defending a zone entry. Tarasov made a couple of good saves in tight, leading the successful kill.

New to the rulebook this season, teams can challenge a delay of game penalty. The call was made when it looked like Tarasov swatted a puck out of the air and into the netting. After review, the puck deflected off a Utah player. No penalty.

Shortly after, JvR drew a double minor for high sticking, which sent him to the locker room. It was bad enough that the ice crew had to come out and scrap the blood off the ice.

Vejmelka made a nice glove save on Werenski after a clearing attempt landed right in front of Z. Late in the power play, Mateychuk just missed a deflection in front of the net. Not really having a second unit hurt the Jackets’ ability to take advantage of the extra two minutes.

LDBB continues to be noticeable in positive ways. I’ve noticed in multiple games that he’s very good at entering the zone on power plays. He could play a significant role on the second unit long-term.

Utah managed to pin the Jackets in the defensive zone late in the period. KJ eventually went to the box for tripping while chasing the puck.

The period came to a close, with Columbus still a man down. The Jackets produced almost no offense at 5v5 in the first 20 minutes – 0.05 xGF, to be exact. They managed only three unblocked shot attempts at even strength.

2nd Period

Utah scored 41 seconds into the period. Somehow, Schmaltz got past the defense and went all alone toward the net. He deflected a Hayton pass into the net.

UTA PP Goal 1-0: Schmaltz (Hayton, Keller) 0:41

Sillinger tripped Keller to send the Jackets right back to the kill. The penalty was easily killed off this time.

The not-Yetis and maybe future Mammoth continued to dominate the game all the way through to the end of the second period. 5v5 xGF through 60 minutes was 1.88-0.26 in favor of Utah.

3rd Period

This time, Utah scored 29 seconds into the period. A juicy rebound off of Tarasov’s right pad found Kerfoot, who had an easy shot.

UTA Goal 2-0: Kerfoot (Marino, Keller) 0:29

Finally, the Jackets broke through. A Fantilli shot from the slot led to a bouncing puck right in front of Vejmelka. Marchenko swiped at the puck and somehow got it into the net.

CBJ Goal 2-1: Marchenko (Fantilli, Werenski) 6:25

After being dominated for most of the game, Kent Johnson brought the Jackets back to even. A shot from the left circle bounced off of Vejmelka, then off a Utah defenseman’s skate and into the net.

CBJ Goal 2-2: K. Johnson (van Riemsdyk, Fabbro) 11:42

The game got a little chippy as regulation came to a close. For the third game in a row, the Jackets headed to OT.

OT

Werenski picked the pocket of the mascotless Utah player and headed the other way with Sillinger in tow. The two passed back and forth before Werenski called game over.

CBJ Goal 3-2: Werenski (Sillinger) 1:01

Final Thoughts

This team continues to earn points without playing a full 60 minutes. It has been better lately, but they played two bad periods before managing to tie it up late. Resiliency.

The back-to-back woes have ended, and it couldn’t have happened at a better time. The Columbus Blue Jackets now sit all alone in the first wild card spot, three points and one game in hand ahead of the Bruins, the first team out.

Up Next

Dallas will play host on Sunday for a 6:00 PM EST puck drop.

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