Another loss ends the road trip.
Elvis Merzlikins made 28 saves and Kent Johnson scored his 10th goal of the year but the Blue Jackets lost 3-1 to the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle Saturday.
1st Period
Former Blue Jacket Alexander Wennberg nearly got the Kraken on the board at 7:56 with a wrist shot from the right circle but Merzlikins made a nice save going from right to left.
Morgan Geekie opened the scoring at 8:39 with a wrist shot from the high slot over Merzlikins' right shoulder.
#SeaKraken Geekie goal pic.twitter.com/0SlqJKpKxZ
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) January 29, 2023
Seattle took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission with a 12-4 advantage in shots on goal.
2nd Period
Ryan Donato nearly doubled Seattle's lead on a breakaway at 4:50 but his forehand attempt hit the post and was cleared by Andrew Peeke.
Merzlikins kept the Columbus deficit at one at 6:58 when he robbed Yanni Gourde's wrist shot from below the right circle with his glove.
Wennberg got revenge against the team that drafted him at 8:33, finishing a nice feed from Jordan Eberle at the doorstep to give Seattle a 2-0 lead.
#SeaKraken Wennberg goal pic.twitter.com/qmO8WdAjp0
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) January 29, 2023
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| SEA KRAKEN | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Merzlikins had to make another great save, this time while the Blue Jackets were on the power play at 14:10 when he denied Jared McCann's shot from the left wing on a two-on-zero rush caused by a Johnny Gaudreau turnover.
Johnson got the Jackets on the board at 18:58 with a wicked wrist shot from the high-left slot that went into the top right corner after Jack Roslovic set him up after a neutral-zone takeaway.
#CBJ Johnson (10) goal pic.twitter.com/A1OAQCobuI
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) January 29, 2023
The Blue Jackets trailed 2-1 after the second period and the Kraken took a 27-13 edge in shots on goal into the third period.
3rd Period
Roslovic had a great chance to tie the game at 4:29 with a wrist shot from the left slot but it was denied by Philipp Grubauer.
Seattle doubled its lead after Tim Berni turned the puck over to Eeli Tolvanen, who fired a wrist shot from the high-left slot past Merzlikins at 5:39.
#SeaKraken Tolvanen goal pic.twitter.com/LiycTXTP1T
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) January 29, 2023
Kirill Marchenko had a chance to cut the Columbus deficit in half at 7:06 with a shot from the left circle but Grubauer made a glove save.
Cole Sillinger had a golden opportunity to score from the slot on a half-open net at 7:26 but his shot was blocked by Vince Dunn on its way.
Geekie nearly scored his second goal of the night at 14:58 when he rang a wrist shot from the right circle off the iron.
The Blue Jackets pulled Merzlikins in favor of an extra skater with under three minutes left in regulation.
Patrik Laine had a chance to cut his team's deficit in half with a slap shot from the top of the right circle at 17:52 but he hit the post.
With the loss, the Blue Jackets fell to 15-32-3.
Stats
- Shots on Goal: CBJ 25-31 SEA
- Faceoff %: CBJ 54.8-45.2 SEA
- Power play: CBJ 0/2-0/2 SEA
- Takeaways: CBJ 4-11 SEA
- Giveaways: CBJ 4-5 SEA
- Blocked shots: CBJ 14-14 SEA
- Hits: CBJ 12-15 SEA
-
5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
- Expected Goals (xG): CBJ 1.50-2.47 SEA
- Chances (CF): CBJ 37-55 SEA
- Shots (SF): CBJ 17-29 SEA
- Scoring Chances (SCF): CBJ 19-25 SEA
- High-Danger Chances (HDCF): CBJ 9-9 SEA
Injury Update
Gustav Nyquist was placed on IR with an upper-body injury that will sideline him indefinitely. Nick Blankenburg and Adam Boqvist missed tonight's game with upper-body injuries.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets are back at it on Tuesday for one last game before the all-star break as they host the Washington Capitals at Nationwide Arena at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
The club returns from the break on Friday, Feb. 10 as they host the Toronto Maple Leafs at Nationwide Arena at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
