Kent Johnson Scores His First Career Goal but Jackets Allow Five Unanswered Goals and Fall 6-3 to Pittsburgh

By Coby Maeir on October 22, 2022 at 9:53 pm
Kent Johnson
Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
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The Jackets were dominated for the final 40 minutes of the game.

 

  1 2 3 F
BLUE JACKETS 2 1 0 3
PENGUINS 0 3 3 6

Game Recap

The Jackets opened the scoring for the first time since opening night when Kris Letang's clearing attempt deflected off of Johnny Gaudreau and found Boone Jenner, who was in front of the net and able to score with 7:13 remaining in the period.

Columbus nearly doubled its lead while short-handed when Mathieu Olivier pulled off a toe-drag and then spun a back-hand pass to Justin Danforth who hit the post. 

The Jackets doubled their lead down a skater when Letang's pass didn't find a Penguin and careened off the boards, leading Jack Roslovic to score on a breakaway with 1:16 left in the period. 

Columbus dominated the first period against its division rivals and carried a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.

Pittsburgh battled back in the second period when Josh Archibald's wrist shot from the left circle beat Elvis Merzlikins to the far side with 16:17 remaining. 

The Jackets responded just 14 seconds later as Kent Johnson scored his first NHL goal on a backhand shot from point-blank range.

The Penguins didn't back down, though, as they scored on a Jan Rutta slap shot from the point to cut Columbus' lead to 3-2 with 9:56 in the middle frame. 

They struck again to tie the game at 3-3 when Danton Heinen cleaned up a rebound at the end of a net-mouth scramble with 5:41 to play in the period.

The teams entered the second intermission deadlocked at three, with the Jackets winning the first period and the Penguins winning the second. 

Pittsburgh's momentum continued into the final period of regulation when Sidney Crosby finished a one-timer from Brian Dumoulin from the right circle off a face-off. Crosby was wide open. 

The Penguins doubled their lead with 5:53 to go in regular when Heinen scored his second of the night off a rebound. 

Pittsburgh scored again 44 seconds later to extend its lead to 6-3 when Brock McGinn fired a top-shelf shot off a rebound past Merzlikins.

That score would hold as the Penguins ended the Jackets' two-game winning streak with a 6-3 victory.

Stats

  • Shots on goal: PIT 39-32 CBJ
  • Face-off %: PIT 53-47 CBJ
  • Power play: PIT 0/3, CBJ 0/1
  • Giveaways: PIT 4-5 CBJ
  • Hits: PIT 12-31 CBJ
  • Blocked shots: PIT 17-15 CBJ
  • 5v5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
    • xG: PIT 2.65-1.46 CBJ
    • Chances: PIT 54-48 CBJ
    • Shots: PIT 34-26 CBJ
    • Scoring chances: PIT 25-21 CBJ
    • High-danger chances: PIT 9-8 CBJ

Injury Update

Justin Danforth left tonight's game with an upper-body injury and did not return. He missed the second and third periods. 

Next Up

The Jackets return to action Sunday at 5 p.m. on the road against the Rangers.

They return home to face the Coyotes on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on Bally Sports Ohio and 97.1 FM The Fan.

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