The CBJ Writer

Let's recap! Tonight started with a firework trade; Gus Nyquist is now playing for the Minnesota Wild. However, the remaining team wouldn't let that phase them tonight as they prepared to face the Buffalo Sabers in Buffalo. For how good the Sabers are, currently 4th in their Atlantic Division and fighting for a playoff spot, this game tonight didn't go to their plan. The Blue Jackets are meeting the challenge to improve and leave their fans to hope for next season, a fact we saw play out well tonight. Goal 1 would put the Blue Jackets up 1-0. The goal would come at 2:53 by Kent Johnson. He scored this first goal on a Blue Jackets Power Play, which marks his thirteenth goal this season. Assists on this goal would go to Nick Blankenburt, his sixth this season. The Sabers would bounce back quickly, gaining a goal at 3:11 from T. Thompson. The game would be even at 1-1 until Eric Robinson scored an unassisted goal at 13:41, giving him six now this season. This 2-1 Blue Jackets

I didn't see this coming. Gus Nyquist was a trade rumor for so long, but after his injury, many fans and myself expected us to sign him to a 1-year deal like we did Joonas Korpisalo last season after he had surgery on both his hips. Tonight, less than an hour before the puck drop in Buffalo, New York, we now know that won't be the case.  Source: Jeff Svoboda @JacketsInsider on Twitter 2/28/23  " NEWS: The Blue Jackets have acquired a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Gustav Nyquist. The pick originally belonged to the Boston Bruins. #CBJ " This move was a surprise because we've seen Vladislav Gavrikhov, and as of today, Joonas Korpisalo held out of games pending a likely trade. With Nyquist out on IR due to a shoulder injury a few weeks ago, this trade came without waning. That said, I'm not surprised the Minnesota Wild made an offer for him. They are currently 4th in their Central Division with a record of 32-21-6.

Period 1 would belong to the Coyotes, but not until T. Boyd found the net at 14:14. The Coyotes would extend their lead to 2-0 after a goal from N. Schmaltz at 16:28. The main highlight of this period would be the Blue Jackets giving the Coyotes a chance at the Powerplay; however, they would be denied. The 2-0 Coyotes lead would take us into Period 2, where the Blue Jackets would find their rhythm.   The second the puck dropped in Period 2, we'd see Blue Jackets Erik Gudbranson and Coyotes Josh Brown would go at it, throwing blow after blow until the refs broke them up. At 13:23, Captain Boone Jenner would prevent the shutout with his seventeenth goal of the season. For anyone on the 5th Line wondering, he does have the most right now and has extended his lead over Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine by two. Nick Blankenburg would have the primary assist on this Jenner goal, his fifth during this 2022-23 NHL season. The secondary assist would come from another defenseman, Andrew Peeke

It didn't seem enough to start this blog with the line "you cannot make this stuff up," so I put it in the title! This was a fantastic game, so we're recapping it after just a two-sentence intro!    Leam Foudy, a Columbus Blue Jackets who's been waiting a very long time for his first regular-season goal, finally had his moment tonight in Dallas. Goal one of this game would be his at 17:41! Jack Roslivic would get his twenty-sixth assist on this goal, while Emil Bemstrom would get his ninth. This period would end with that goal being the only one so far, giving the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead.  This second period is when it gets interesting! The Dallas Stars would technically have three goals in this second period; however, only one would count. The first goal would be removed from the board due to the scoring player being "offsides." The second goal for the Stars would count and come from T. Dellandrerea at 6:29, taking us to a 1-1 tie. The third goal for th

The first period of this game would be a clinic on good defense for both teams. It would take until the final seconds for a goal to be scored. It would, unfortunately, be in the Winnipeg Jets favor, however. K. Connor would score at 19:58, giving his team a 1-0 advantage heading into Period 2. This would also be a Powerplay goal for the Jets.  A former Jets player would even the odds in this Period 2, however, as Patrik Laine would score goal fifteen of his season. The goal would come at 10:00, giving Adam Boqvist his twelfth assist this season and his third point in just two games. The secondary assist would go to Johnny Gaudreau, who keeps skating along; this is his thirty-seventh of the season. Amazingly, this would be the only goal of this period, giving us a 1-1 tie and an exciting third period to go. After more back-and-forth hockey, with many chances and no goals, Kent Johnson would break through! His twelfth goal this season would come at 9:40. Given the top goal scorers on the

The spark the Columbus Blue Jackets found in Toronto when they beat the Maple Leafs 4-3 on Saturday definitely carried over into tonight. The New Jersey Devils are no small task, at home or on the road, but for every goal the Devils had tonight, the Blue Jackets would counter with one of their own. Period 1 would start with a Devils goal at 10:46, as Y. Sharangovich would score the game's opening goal, zooming a puck past everyone. Johnny Gaudreau would match the Devils' goal at 19:58m scoring his fifteenth since joining the Blue Jackets this offseason. Patrik Laine would add assist number eighteen to his season's total, while Adam Boqvist would add his third. With 20 minutes in the books for this game, our score would be tied at 1-1. Just 0:07 into Period 2, J. Bratt would score the Devils' second goal of this game. Truly, the puck dropped, and with everyone far apart for the period to start, it was a quick one-on-one for Merzlikins. Painful to see, but it wouldn't

After a 2-0 lead was set in stone by the Maple Leafs, with a goal from N. Nylander at 2:39 and a goal from M. Bunting at 10:40 tonight in Toronto, many of us likely had some PTSD from last night. For those who need a reminder, the Maple Leafs held a 1-0 lead in Period 1 and eventually shut us out 3-0 in our own arena. The story tonight wouldn't end this way, however. At 4:21, Captain Boone Jenner would get the Blue Jackets on the board and give Kirill Marchenko his first NHL Assist! For those keeping count, this is Jenner's fifteenth goal of this NHL Season, too. Kirill Marchenko would then flip the script, scoring a goal of his own at 15:01. Captain Boone Jenner would have his thirteenth assist on this goal, while Johnny Gaudreau would take the secondary assist. Not only does this take his assist total to thirty-six this season, but it also puts him at an even fifty points this season! Less than a minute later, Sean Kuraly would join the double-digit goal club this season. Num

Welcome back from the 2023 All-Star Break 5th Line! Tonight was a very special evening. Not only are we back to Hockey after the All-Star break we also celebrate Hockey is for Everyone night tonight! I see many jokes about how anyone can go to a hockey game on social media. From the outside looking in, I understand that that's an obvious assumption about the evening. I personally enjoy this evening, and I'll tell you why. During the first intermission break, I was nearly in tears listening to Tom's story on the CBJ Radio Broadcast. He's been a massive fan for twenty years and a season ticket holder. Regardless of where he is, watching the game in person or at home, he listens to the games due to an accident taking his vision decades ago. As many of you know, I still have some of my vision, but it could be better, and what I haven't had since birth isn't retrievable. Hockey is for Everyone celebrates pride nicely, but it also includes those with disabilities or a

I followed this closely but missed the announcement yesterday, so this is common knowledge. However, I will write a blog because this matters since at least one Columbus Blue Jacket will attend. That said, we'll always hope for more!  For the first time in over two decades, the Toronto Maple Leafs will host the NHL All-Star Game in 2024! I love how popular hockey is here in the United States; however, this event being held in Canada is exciting. Due to the location, it makes sense to have a Canadian performer at the game who will sing before the All-Star Final. It was announced that Justin Beiber would be that performer. I have no doubt that the weekend will be full of excitement, and I can't wait to see who represents our Columbus Blue Jackets in 2024.  Remember, Blue Jackets hockey returns on Friday, February 11th. The puck will drop in Nationwide Arena at 7:00 PM as we host the Toronto Maple Leafs. This will also be a back-to-back homestand, so if you miss hockey like I do,

The Metropolitan Division would face off against the Atlantic Division in Game 2 of the 2023 NHL All-Star day. In the first period, Johnny Gaudreau, the only representative in attendance for our Columbus Blue Jackets, would score at 5:20! The lone assist on this goal would go to another name familiar to the 5th Line, Artemi Panarin! As if one goal wasn't enough, the pair would do this again seconds later at 5:40. This would also tie the game at 2-2 and erase the Atlantic Divisions' 2-goal lead. However, this half would end with a 4-3 Atlantic Division lead.   Just 0:25 seconds into the second period, Johnny Gaudreau would net the first Hattrick of this 2023 NHL All-Star Game! He'd do so with another assist from Aremi Panarin, too! This only becomes more amazing when you consider that Johnny Gaudreau gets $10,000 donated to any charity he wants for scoring the first Hatttrick in this game. This donation will come from Enterprise. What a massive moment for the brand-new Blue

Watching the Pitch'n Puck Skills Challenge at the 2023 NHL All-Star Game reminded me of being young, shooting a tennis ball at a net with him in the off-season. For this contest, our very own Johnny Gaudreau found himself hitting a golf ball on a golf course with a hockey stick. Johnny Gaudreau didn't win this competition or the sponsor (Chipotle) year of free food prize. That said, Johnny did have a good showing, being in second place at the halfway point of this challenge. Unfortunately, he didn't get that hole-in-one like Montreal Canadians Nick Suzuki. Congratulations to him, and well played, Johnny.  Tomorrow the 2023 NHL All-Star Game will be shown on ABC. Good luck to all players, especially the Metropolitan Division and number 13, Johnny Gaudreau! The games are set to begin at 3:00 PM.   

I still cringe at this news because even hearing Bob McElligott and my best friend state how much pain Gus Nyquist was on the ice during his Period 1 injury at the Edmonton Oilers, I still held out some hope I wouldn't be writing this. What I should have considered is how miserable this season has been injury-wise. The only good news to come out of this is that his injury, regarding his shoulder, won't need an operation but instead just time to hear itself. Nothing has been said as to if this shoulder injury occurred on the same one he had surgery on, missing the entire 2020-21 NHL Seasn, not long ago. This means his current 2022-23 NHL Season will end as follows: 10-12-22 over 48 games.   As always, I wish Nyquist the best in his recovery and hope that January 25, 2023, isn't the last time we see him in a Columbus Blue Jackets Jersey. We must work out cap space to keep him and forgo trading him. His value to the offense and the locker room is also apparent. We'll just