The Columbus Blue Jackets were stumped all game long by the San Jose Sharks goaltender Vitek Vanecek in a 2-1 OT loss.
Dean Evason should've demanded to see who was under the mask of the San Jose Sharks because Vitek Vanecek was playing more like Martin Brodeur than he was himself.
Brodeur Vanecek stopped 49 of 50 Blue Jackets' and was one Kirill Marchenko goal away from a shutout.
Kirill Marchenko(5) scored 9:17 into the third to tie the game at 1. Damon Severson and Yegor Chinakhov assisted on the goal. Elvis Merzļikins stopped 25 of 27 Sharks shots in the loss.
The story of this night was Vanecek, who absolutely stoned the Jackets all game long. Columbus peppered the San Jose goalie with shots from everywhere on the ice but it didn't matter. The Sharks did have 16 blocked shots as well, so the shot clock could've been higher.
In overtime, former Jacket Alex Wennberg ended the game on a great shot 3:11 into the extra period to win it for the home team.
Vanecek is 7-0 in his career against the Blue Jackets, allowing just 7 goals total.
Wennberg told reporters after the game, “The one thing I know is to shoot high glove on Elvis."
Final Stats
CBJ APPPlayers Stats
- Kirill Marchenko scored his 5th goal and 13th point of the season.
- Damon Severson recorded his 4th assist.
- Yegor Chinakhov tallied his 6th assist of the season.
- Elvis Merzļikins stopped 25 of 27 Sharks shots.
Team Stats
- The Columbus went 0/3 on the PP.
- The Blue Jackets were perfect on the PK, stopping all four Sharks penalties.
- The CBJ won 51.8% of the faceoffs.
What's Next - The Blue Jackets have a few days off as they trek to Southern California to take on the LA Kings on Saturday.
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