Down Two Goals In The Third-Period, Columbus Comes From Behind To Defeat Pittsburgh In A Shootout
Mathieu Oliver(5), Kirill Marchenko(19), and Zach Werenski(7) scored in regulation, and then Damon Severson scored the shootout winner in a 4-3 defeat of the visiting Penguins. Elvis Merzlikins stopped 30 of 33 Pittsburgh shots in the win and made some big saves in the process.
Before the game even started, the Jackets were fighting an uphill battle. Just a couple of hours before the puck dropped, it was announced that Captain Boone Jenner would miss the game due to illness. Because of this, the Jackets called up forward Cameron Butler to replace him. Columbus had no extra bodies, so a call-up was needed. Butler went on to play just 54 seconds in the game.
Columbus scored first with Olivier's goal, but the Pens would score the next three goals to take a 3-1 lead with 11 minutes left in the game. But just nine seconds after Rikard Rakell scored to make it 3-1, Kirill Marchenko would bury a snipe to bring it back to within one goal. It was a highlight goal by Marchenko, and it woke up the CBJ faithful.
Zach Werenski tied it with a highlight goal of his own just 2:39 after Marchenko's goal. Werenski had a good night recording two points, 4 shots, a +2 rating, and playing 27:24.
Elvis would stand tall in the shootout, allowing just one shot past him. The unlikely hero for the Jackets was Damon Severson, who took the 5th shot for Columbus. He put one past Pens goalie and Ohio native Alex Nedeljkovic and Elvis stopped a shot from Evgeni Malkin to win it.
All in all, it was a good game by Columbus. They showed patience and were resilient by not letting the game get away from them when it was 3-1. They fought back and got a win against a Pens team they just can't seem to beat anymore.
Instead of blowing a third-period lead, they forced their opponent to blow a lead. Rare indeed.
Final Stats
CBJ AppPlayer Notes
- Mathieu Olivier scored his 5th goal of the season while shorthanded.
- Kirill Marchenko scored his 19th goal of the season. He led the team with 6 shots on goal.
- Zach Werenski scored his 7th goal of the season and tallied his 41st assist. He also had 4 shots.
- Cole Sillinger recorded his 16th assist.
- Damon Severson had an assist, his 17th of the season, and had the shootout winner.
- Johnny Gaudreau notched his 44th assist of the season.
- Cameron Butler who was called up today to replace Boone Jenner, had 54 seconds of ice time.
- Elvis Merzlikins stopped 30 of 33 shots on the night. He also stopped all but 1 shootout attempt.
Team Notes
- The CBJ power play went 0 for 4.
- The Blue Jackets PK stopped both Penguin power plays.
- The Jackets won 45% of their faceoffs.
What's Next - The Blue Jackets are home again Monday night to play the Colorado Avalanche.
More From THN Columbus
Join Jason Newland's Columbus Blue Jacket page on Bunches, a new app that connects sports fans. Also, you can watch a new YouTube game show about the Blue Jackets, Around the Fifth Line.