Blue Jackets Lose 6-4 Despite James Malatesta's First NHL Goal

By Coby Maeir on April 13, 2024 at 10:10 pm
Nashville Predators center Tommy Novak (82) celebrates his goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the first period at Bridgestone Arena.
© Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports
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The Blue Jackets scored first but allowed four-straight goals in their 6-4 loss to the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday in Nashville.

  1 2 3 F
BLUE JACKETS 1 1 2 4
NSH PREDATORS 3 3 0 6

1st Period

James Malatesta opened the scoring with his first-career NHL goal at 2:04 off a right-circle faceoff where Malatesta picked up the puck, deked around a defender, and fired a wrist shot from the slot past Juuse Saros.

Nashville tied the game 45 seconds later at 2:49 when Tommy Novak scored from the left doorstep thanks to a cross-ice feed from Luke Evangelista.

Roman Josi gave the Predators a 2-1 lead on the power play at 4:19 with a one-timer from the point.

Novak scored his second of the game to double Nashville's lead at 13:25 with a left-circle wrist shot past Jet Greaves.

Mathieu Olivier fought Luke Schenn at 17:03 after Olivier hit Jaret Anderson-Dolan into the boards.

The Predators took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission despite trailing 15-11 in shots on goal.

2nd Period

Alexandre Carrier gave Nashville a 4-1 lead at 4:52 with a right-circle blast that took a deflection on its way in.

Alexandre Texier scored his 12th goal of the season on a breakaway thanks to a great lead pass by Damon Severson at 10:23 to cut Nashville's lead to two.

Filip Forsberg gave Nashville a 5-2 lead at 13:12 on the power play when Josi's centering pass went off his skate and in.

Josi scored his second of the night to put the Predators up 6-2 with a nice move around Greaves at the doorstep at 15:09.

Nashville took a 6-2 lead into the third period with both teams registering 24 shots on goal.   

3rd Period

Trey Fix-Wolansky scored his first goal of the season at 6:02 thanks to a sweet feed from Justin Danforth.

Fix-Wolansky scored again with a wrist shot from the slot at 19:30.

With the loss, the Blue Jackets fell to 26-43-12. 

Stats

  • Shots on Goal: CBJ 37-37 NSH
  • Face-off %: CBJ 51-49 NSH
  • Power play: CBJ 0/1-2/3 NSH
  • Giveaways: CBJ 9-21 NSH
  • Takeaways: CBJ 10-16 NSH
  • Blocked shots: CBJ 14-16 NSH
  • Hits: CBJ 22-16 NSH
  • 5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
    • Expected Goals (xG): CBJ 2.43-2.40 NSH
    • Shot Attempts (CF): CBJ 64-52 NSH
    • Shots on Goal (SF): CBJ 34-32 NSH
    • Scoring Chances (SCF): CBJ 25-21 NSH
    • High-Danger Chances (HDCF): CBJ 7-8 NSH

Injury Update

  • Boone Jenner is out.
  • Adam Boqvist is out with an upper-body injury sustained on Mar. 14 against the Ottawa Senators. There is no timetable for his return. 
  • Yegor Chinakhov is day-to-day with an upper-body injury he suffered on Mar. 12 against the Canadiens. 
  • Elvis Merzlikins is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. 
  • Kent Johnson has been placed on injured reserve with a torn labrum in his left shoulder that will sideline him for the remainder of the season. He underwent successful surgery on Mar. 7 and is expected to make a full recovery in six months.
  • 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.
  • Jake Bean is out for the season with a broken hand suffered on Apr. 4. 
  • Daniil Tarasov is out with an upper-body injury suffered on Apr. 4. 
  • Carson Meyer is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

Next Up

The Jackets end their season on Tuesday when they host the Carolina Hurricanes at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.

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