Good news: Nikita Kucherov failed to score a goal for the first time this season.
Bad news: The Blue Jackets also failed to score a goal for the first time this season.
19-year-old defenseman Mikhail Sergachev – acquired this summer in a trade for Jonathan Drouin – scored his first NHL goal in the first period. In the second, he would add his second. That was it.
Despite the score, Columbus controlled the pace of play in the second two periods. Credit to Andrei Vasilevskiy for making 43 saves. 8 were high danger shots, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The power play remains frustratingly ineffective, though the final one in the third period was an improvement.
Full recap to come in the morning.