Three Things: NHL Debut Times Four, No Jenner, Laine, Merzlikins, A Win At What Cost?

By Will Chase on April 13, 2023 at 10:10 pm
Pittsburgh Penguins' Tristan Jarry makes a save as Columbus Blue Jackets' Kent Johnson looks for a rebound against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the second period at Nationwide Arena.
Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports
6 Comments

The win no one wanted?

Johnny Gaudreau's overtime goal only one minute into the extra time ended the Columbus Blue Jackets' four-game losing streak as they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2, on Thursday at Nationwide Arena.

Andrew Peeke and both Emil Bemstrom scored. Hunter McKown picked up his second career assist. Michael Pyyhtia and Stanislav Svozil picked up their first career assists. Adam Boqvist and Sean Kuraly also picked up assists.

Kris Letang had two points with a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh and Jake Guentzel had a goal. Letang's goal was the 12th of his career against the Jackets, tied for the second most against any opponent (New York Rangers) trailing only the New York Islanders (13). Guentzel's 12 goals against Columbus are tied for the most (Vancouver Canucks) against any one team.

Sidney Crosby had two assists and Rickard Rakell had an assist.

Michael Hutchinson made 34 saves and was the first star of the game. Tristan Jarry had 31 stops.

The Penguins win the season series against Columbus, 3-1.

More NHL Debuts

With nothing to play for but a top-three NHL lottery finish and increasing your odds at the first pick, the Blue Jackets brought up Svozil, Pyyhtia, Samuel Knazko, and Tyler Angle as they dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

Svozil played in the WHL with the Regina Pats and their season ended Monday night in the playoffs.

While his teammate, Connor Bedard, lead the world in scoring, Svozil finished fourth on the team with 78 points and second with 67 assists, as he put in 11 goals.

Not bad.

Knazko played his first year in North America for the Cleveland Monsters and had 21 points (one goal, 21 assists) in 49 games.

Pyyhtia also had his first taste with the Monsters, playing in six games for Cleveland, scoring three goals. He spent much of the year with TPS of the Liiga Champions Hockey League, where he had 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 47 games.

The 22-year-old Angle is the elder of the group and he scored 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 65 games for the Monsters.

Joona Luoto and Billy Sweezey were also recalled from the Monsters on Wednesday.

Tonight was the first night the Blue Jackets had four players make their NHL debut in the same game. As a franchise all-time, the Blue Jackets have had 333 players suit up in team history. They've had a franchise record 47 players play this year.

No Jenner, Laine, Merzlikins

Dealing with injuries, captain Boone Jenner, Patrik Laine, and Elvis Merzlikins have played their final games of the 2022-23 season. While Laine (triceps injury) hasn't played since Mar. 22, and Merzlikins (leg) hasn't played since Mar. 25, Jenner missed Tuesday's overtime loss against the Philadelphia Flyers with a lower back injury and he won't play in Friday's season finale.

A Win At What Cost?

So while this game could have featured a whole nother element of excitement, the Penguins were eliminated from playoff contention on Wednesday night due to the win by the Islanders over the Montreal Canadiens. That broke the Penguins' 16-year playoff streak, dating back to Crosby's rookie season, and was the longest streak of all four major league sports.

Coincidently, this season marked the second time (2017-18) in Crosby's career that he played in all 82 games, as tonight marked his 1,190th career game. It's the first time both he and Evgeni Malkin played all 82 games together in a season. Both Rakell and Brian Dumoulin played in all 82 games for the first time in their respective careers.

With nothing on the line for Pittsburgh but to play spoiler to the Blue Jackets' bid for the top pick, what would this mean for Thursday's game?

Pittsburgh had to play game No. 82 for formality and they did start their regulars.

Of course, this was the game the Blue Jackets found a way to win.

The Penguins are now 7-1-0 against Columbus since 2021-22, as the Blue Jackets pick up their first win against Pittsburgh since Mar. 9, 2019. They haven't won in Pittsburgh since Nov. 13, 2015.

The San Jose Sharks could have helped a little bit on Wednesday night.

Whereas a win would have solidified a bottom-three finish for the Blue Jackets in the standings, instead, San Jose lost to the Calgary Flames, 3-1. The Sharks finish up with the Edmonton Oilers tonight. As of right this very second, the Anaheim Ducks are 32nd, the Chicago Blackhawks are 31st, and the Blue Jackets are 30th.

There's still a chance that the Blue Jackets could fall out of the bottom three and end up 29th in the league standings.

Season Finale

The Blue Jackets host the Buffalo Sabres in the season finale at Nationwide Arena on Friday, April 14 at 7:30 pm ET. The Blue Jackets are 1-1-0 against the Sabres this season. Buffalo beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-3, on Thursday in Buffalo in overtime.

6 Comments
View 6 Comments