A first this season.
Elvis Merzlikins made all 21 saves for his 10th career shutout and Dmitri Voronkov scored to propel the Columbus Blue Jackets over the St. Louis Blues 1-0 on Tuesday night at Enterprise Center. The loss snaps the Blues' five-game winning streak.
Johnny Gaudreau continued a three-game point streak (zero goals, three assists) and Zach Werenski had an assist.
Jordan Binnington made 21 saves.
The shutout is the first for the Blue Jackets since Jan. 13, 2022. The last shutout for the Blue Jackets with less than 30 saves was their 2-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Feb. 7, 2020, when Merzlikins made 16 stops. The Blues had not been shut out at home since Feb. 22, 2021, when the Los Angeles Kings won 3-0.
Fantilli Misses First Game
After suffering a laceration in Sunday's 4-2 loss against the Seattle Kraken, star rookie Adam Fantilli missed his first game of the season on Tuesday night.
It sounds like the worst-case scenario was avoided, but the severity of the injury and how much action he'll miss remains to be seen.
The All-Star Break comes at the right time, as perhaps he'll suit up in the team's next game on Feb. 10 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Among all rookies, Fantilli is fourth in points (27), tied for third in goals (12) with Voronkov, and tied for sixth in assists (15) with Marco Rossi.
Action-less ... Almost
There wasn't much action in either of the first two periods. The shots on goal through 40 minutes were 11-8 Blue Jackets, and the 5v5 expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick, were 1.07 - 0.97.
A fight broke out between Mathieu Olivier and Tyler Tucker in the second period.
pic.twitter.com/SWlHGzBrvV #CBJ
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 31, 2024
Not long after, Boone Jenner thought he had a goal, but the puck hit the crossbar and never crossed the goal line.
Shutout Streak Over
Voronkov scored in the third period to break a scoreless tie at 4:11. Werenski and Gaudreau picked up the assists.
Voronkov is now tied with Fantilli with 12 goals and tied for 3rd with Fantilli among all rookies. Assists from Werenski and Gaudreau. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/LFTlXmXH1q
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 31, 2024
Zach Werenski's assist tonight gives him 193 for his career, passing Nick Foligno on the franchise list. Werenski is now third all-time.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 31, 2024
Next up:
David Vyborny, 204
Rick Nash, 258#CBJ
Voronkov's 12 goals tie him with Fantilli for fourth on the Blue Jackets, and the duo is tied for third in the rookie-goal-scoring race. Voronkov's 25 points tie him for sixth among rookies with Logan Cooley.
Dmitri Voronkov has five goals in the last seven games.
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) January 31, 2024
Just three behind Connor Bedard on the season, as we all expected coming into the season. #CBJ
On the other end, Merzlikins was perfect, stopping all 21 shots.
Elvis Merzlikins tonight became the fifth #CBJ goalie in franchise history with at least 10 shutouts. Joins Sergei Bobrovsky (33), Steve Mason (19), Marc Denis (12) and Pascal Leclaire (10).
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) January 31, 2024
At the risk of being the ultimate jinx: It's been over two calendar years since the #CBJ last had a shutout. January 13th, 2022 against the Carolina Hurricanes a span of 747 days and 179 games.
— CBJ Stats (@BlueJacketStats) January 31, 2024
A list of people who were alive when the #CBJ had their last shutout (1-13-22):
— CBJ Stats (@BlueJacketStats) January 31, 2024
Queen Elizabeth II
Gilbert Gottfried
Taylor Hawkins
Naomi Judd
Coolio
Loretta Lynn
Angela Lansbury
tWitch Boss
Pele
Aaron Carter
Takeoff
Ray Liotta
Olivia Newton-John
Anne Heche
Kirstie Alley
Fuck.
The Blue Jackets wrap up their five-game road trip going 2-2-1.
All-Star Break
Tonight marked the final game for the Blue Jackets before the All-Star Break. They'll resume action on Saturday, Feb. 10, when they host the Lightning at Nationwide Arena at 7:00 p.m. ET.
