The Columbus Blue Jackets fought till the very end, but couldn't quite complete the comeback against the Florida Panthers.
Cole Sillinger(1) scored a shorthanded goal, while Sean Monahan(2) and James van Riemsdyk(1) added goals of their own in a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. Elvis Merzļikins stopped 18 of 22 Panther shots in the loss.
On Sean Monahan's goal in the second period, after scoring, he pointed to the newly raised 13 banner, in remembrance of Johnny Gaudreau. On an already emotional night, most of the fans who were cheering also had tears in their eyes. This night was to remember the fallen superstar, and most people could've cared less about the actual game.
The Panthers held a 4-2 lead late in the game when James van Riemsdyk scored with 2:39 left in the game to pull it within one. All of a sudden, everyone in Nationwide Arena could feel the tying goal was about to happen. Sadly, after a flurry of shots and scoring chances, Panther goalie Spencer Knight was able to hold on for the victory and rob the Jackets of a perfect night. The Blue Jackets would fall 4-3 on Tuesday night.
All in all, despite the loss, it was a great night inside Nationwide Arena. Yes, it was emotional, but as Johnny would want - Hockey was played, and that's all that mattered on this night.
Final Stats
CBJ APPPlayers Stats
- Cole Sillinger scored his first goal of the season as the Jackets were on the PK.
- Sean Monahan scored his second goal of the season. He now has 4 points. He also led all forwards with 5 shots on goal.
- James van Riemsdyk scored his first goal as a Blue Jacket.
- Yegor Chinakhov, with an assist, now has 5 points.
- Kirill Marchenko tallied an assist, moving his points total to 4.
- Kent Johnson notched an assist and now has 4 points. He led the forwards in TOI.
- Kevin Labanc had an assist.
- Damon Severson had an assist and now has 3 points in 3 games.
- Zach Werenski played 28:36 of ice time. He also had 7 shots on the night.
Team Stats
- The CBJ power play went 0/2.
- The Jackets PK went 3/3 and scored a shorthanded goal.
- Columbus won 57.4% of the faceoffs.
What's Next - Columbus is back home on Thursday to play the Buffalo Sabres.
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