Cole Sillinger extended his goal-scoring streak to three games and the Blue Jackets snapped their two-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Blackhawks at the United Center in Chicago on Saturday.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| CHI BLACKHAWKS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
1st Period
Alexandre Texier opened the scoring at 0:33 with his ninth goal of the year after Seth Jones couldn't handle a pass in the defensive zone, leaving it for Texier to pick up and fire a wrist shot from the right slot past Arvid Soderblom.
Well that didn't take long!
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) March 3, 2024
Alexandre Texier finds the back of the net 33 seconds into the game to give the Jackets an early 1-0 lead!#CBJ pic.twitter.com/0uBib5FYX1
Boone Jenner doubled Columbus' lead with his 19th tally of the season at 14:05 with a net-front deflection on Zach Werenski's wrist shot from the point.
O Captain, my Captain!
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) March 3, 2024
Boone Jenner gets a nice feed from Adam Boqvist to put another tally on the board for the Jackets! #CBJ pic.twitter.com/x9UbgYq2SD
The Blackhawks responded at 17:32 when Philipp Kurashev took a feed from Connor Bedard after Bedard started the play by forcing an Alex Nylander turnover on the forecheck and fired a shot from the slot past Elvis Merzlikins.
a Kurashev goal for your timeline pic.twitter.com/u2Ex9w56rH
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 3, 2024
The Blue Jackets took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission along with a 13-9 advantage in shots on goal.
2nd Period
Mathieu Olivier put Columbus up 3-1 at 3:09 with his second goal of the season when he took a backhanded whack at a feed from Werenski from the left doorstep.
The Jackets regain their two-goal lead thanks to a sneaky one from Mathieu Olivier!#CBJ pic.twitter.com/2yFRxAvBUU
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) March 3, 2024
After Nylander took a loose puck in the slot and took the rebound from his shot behind the net, he found Sillinger at the left doorstep for his 11th goal of the season to extend his goal streak to three games at 11:51.
Keep 'em coming.
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) March 3, 2024
Cole Sillinger has now scored goals in three straight games! #CBJ pic.twitter.com/WEdo2hDwsk
The Blue Jackets led 4-1 after 40 minutes and took a 26-15 advantage in shots on goal into the third period.
3rd Period
Ryan Donato cut the Columbus lead to two at 6:18 when he took the rebound from Kurashev's breakaway attempt off the end boards and scored.
do not blink, Donato scores! pic.twitter.com/xi8oPiE3Cp
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 3, 2024
Bedard had a fantastic opportunity to cut the Blackhawks' deficit in half after a takeaway but his shot from the right slot was stopped by Merzlikins at 10:57.
The Blackhawks pulled Soderblom for an extra skater at 17:18
Johnny Gaudreau scored his ninth goal of the season on an empty net from the top of the right circle at 17:35.
do not blink, Donato scores! pic.twitter.com/xi8oPiE3Cp
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 3, 2024
With the win, the Blue Jackets improved to 20-30-10.
Stats
- Shots on Goal: CBJ 31-27 CHI
- Face-off %: CBJ 46.9-53.1 CHI
- Power play: CBJ 0/2-0/3 CHI
- Giveaways: CBJ 3-4 CHI
- Takeaways: CBJ 6-5 CHI
- Blocked shots: CBJ 14-21 CHI
- Hits: CBJ 13-20 CHI
-
5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
- Expected Goals (xG): CBJ 2.21-2.48 CHI
- Shot Attempts (CF): CBJ 54-46 CHI
- Shots on Goal (SF): CBJ 24-23 CHI
- Scoring Chances (SCF): CBJ 28-26 CHI
- High-Danger Chances (HDCF): CBJ 8-12 CHI
Injury Update
- Patrik Laine entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Jan. 28 and will be away from the team indefinitely.
- Adam Fantilli suffered a calf laceration on Jan. 28 and is expected to miss eight weeks.
- Kent Johnson suffered an upper-body injury in Wednesday's game against the Rangers and is out indefinitely.
Next Up
The Jackets return home on Monday to face the Golden Knights at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
The club will head to Pittsburgh to take on Sidney Crosby and the Penguins on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
