| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
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1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
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CBJ GOALS: |
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Zach Werenski scored and Jet Greaves made 31 saves but the Columbus Blue Jackets could not solve the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night, falling 5-2 as the Blue Jackets began a four-game road trip.
Pavol Regenda scored in the final minute of the first and Alex Wennberg made it 2-0 Sharks early in the second period. Wennberg's goal, which came on the power play, was one of 17 shots in the period for San Jose, who outshot Columbus 17-6 in the middle frame.
Zach Werenski showed a bit of a fight with a goal in the final minute to cut San Jose's lead to 2-1, and Mathieu Olivier took part in a literal fight just seconds later against Sharks enforcer Ryan Reaves. The two landed vicious blow after vicious blow before Olivier took Reaves to the ground.
The fight was meant to give the Blue Jackets a bit of life heading into a crucial third period — "if that fight doesn't get you going, something's wrong," Werenski told FanDuel Sports Network during the intermission — but it was all for naught.
Despite outshooting San Jose 18-9 in the third period, the Sharks would score next and take a 3-1 lead with just 4:44 remaining in the game.
Sean Monahan quickly answered for the Blue Jackets in his first game back after missing the last week, but the Sharks would get a pair of empty netters to go up 5-2 and put the game out of reach for Columbus.
Here's how the Blue Jackets fell to 18-17-7 on the season:
1st Period:
(19:11 — SJ Goal): A decent period has a frustrating ending. Tyler Toffoli makes a long pass up the ice to Alex Wennberg, who immediately has a 2-on-1 with Regenda after a Blue Jackets defensive breakdown. The rookie roofs it past Greaves to put the Sharks up 1-0 late in the frame.
Pavol Regenda's fourth goal in two games puts the Sharks on the board pic.twitter.com/138NHo3W33
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) January 7, 2026
2nd Period:
(4:14 — SJ Goal): Wennberg, the former Blue Jacket, makes it 2-0 on the power play. He accepts a pass from William Eklund near the goal line and skates into the crease before putting a backhand shot between Greaves to double the San Jose lead.
Alex Wennberg gives #TheFutureIsTeal a 2-0 lead on the PP! pic.twitter.com/f7k3VkeGR5
— JD Young (@MyFryHole) January 7, 2026
(19:15 — CBJ Goal): Werenski cuts the Sharks' lead in half in the final minute of the second with his 16th goal of the season. He takes a fantastic cross-ice pass from Dmitri Voronkov and launches one to the top left corner, beating San Jose goalie Alex Nedeljkovic to get Columbus on the board.
Z WITH A PERFECT SHOT!
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) January 7, 2026
CBJ x @FanaticsBook pic.twitter.com/LnNAuEfwlE
(19:16 — A Big-Time Battle): A potential fight of the year candidate comes after the Werenski goal. Mathieu Olivier and Ryan Reaves drop the gloves at center ice and after what felt like an eternity of haymakers back and forth, Olivier gets the decisive win in a classic heavyweight tilt.
RYAN REAVES VS MATHIEU OLIVIER WHAT A SCRAP pic.twitter.com/PhXJrhBCdt
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) January 7, 2026
3rd Period:
(15:16— SJ Goal): Ostapchuk speeds ahead and takes advantage of a busted play, scoring on a breakaway to put the Sharks up 3-1.
Ostapchuk shows off the speed for the breakaway goal pic.twitter.com/pm7f1enyij
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) January 7, 2026
(16:05 — CBJ Goal): Monahan gives the Blue Jackets a bit of life with a quick response to cut the San Jose lead to 3-2. He locates the loose puck after Ivan Provorov's shot from the point and gets it behind Nedeljkovic for his sixth goal of the campaign.
Monny is officially back!
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) January 7, 2026
CBJ x @FanaticsBook pic.twitter.com/2KS6nFGAz3
(17:46, 18:31 — SJ Empty Net Goals): The Sharks get a pair of empty netters, one from Mario Ferraro and one from Macklin Celebrini, to close out a win on home ice.
| CBJ | GAME STATS | SJ |
|---|---|---|
| 36 | SHOTS | 36 |
| 58% | FACEOFFS | 42% |
| 0/3 | POWER PLAY | 1/5 |
| 4/5 | PENALTY KILL | 3/3 |
| 12 | HITS | 20 |
| 12 | GIVEAWAYS | 12 |
| 3 | TAKEAWAYS | 7 |
| 16 | BLOCKED SHOTS | 14 |
| ALL SITUATIONS ADVANCED STATS | ||
| 65 | SHOT ATTEMPTS | 64 |
| 36 | SCORING CHANCES | 38 |
| 18 | HIGH-DANGER CHANCES | 22 |
| Data via NHL.com & NaturalStatTrick.com | ||
Stat Chat:
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Werenski's goal late in the second extended his point streak to eight games and after going seven straight contests without finding the back of the net, the Olympian now has a goal in five of his last six games.
- The Blue Jackets out-attempted the Sharks 65-64 for the game, but it was another strong night of five-on-five play: Columbus had 58 of the 99 (58.9%) of the shot attempts at even-strength in a losing effort.
Up Next:
The road trip continues with a 10:00 p.m. puck-drop Thursday night against the Vegas Golden Knights. It's the second and final meeting of the season between the teams; Vegas won 3-2 in Columbus on December 13th. The Blue Jackets had a 2-1 lead in the third before a pair of Knights' goals gave them the regulation win.
