Columbus Blue Jackets @ Montreal Canadians: 10/26/23 Game Recap

Last game, Jack Roslovic and Emil Bemstrom would prove their value to this Blue Jackets team. Bemstrom would have the single powerplay goal, while Roslovic would score the game-winner in overtime. Tonight, the dynamic duo would continue to put up scores for the Columbus team on their first trip to Canada. At 7:46, Jack Roslovic would score the first goal of the evening. Johnny Gaudreau would add his fourth assist this season, while Zach Werenski would add his third. Between this goal and the next, our newest rookie, Dimitri Voronkov, would be welcomed to the NHL early with his first fight as a defenseman. He would take on Arber Xhekaj, and each would be assigned 2 minutes for penalties, in addition to 5 minutes each for fighting. A few more penalties later, Emil Bemstrom would score his first goal of the night and second powerplay goal in as many games! Ivan Proverov would continue dominating the assist category, adding his sixth this season. Jack Roslovic would also have his third this season, giving him a 1-1-2 night after just one period of play. These would be the only two goals this period, meaning we'd take a 2-0 lead into period 2! 

Now, the Canadians wouldn't go down without a fight. Thanks to Nick Suzuki, they would score just 0:37 into period 2. Emil Bemstrom would regain the Blue Jackets' two-goal lead at 13:34, though, with his second powerplay goal this evening and third in just two games! Jack Roslovic would gain the primary assist on this goal, giving him four this season and a 1-2-3 total tonight thus far. Also, Dimitri Voronkov would add his first mark, an assist, as an NHL player. Unfortunately, with seconds left and on the powerplay, the Canadians would shave off another goal from our lead. At 19:43, Mike Matheson would pop one past Elvis Merzlikins. The score, at this point after 40 minutes of play, would be a 3-2 lead for the Blue Jackets. 

Even with Elvis Merzlikins making incredible saves, the penalties would come back to bite us early into period 3. Sean Monahan would score the Canadians' second powerplay goal in as many periods at 7:48. For those keeping score, that would turn this game into a brand-new one, with the score now 3-3. With just over seven minutes left in the final regulation period, Elvis Merzlikins would be under fire for a few minutes straight, but his focus would keep the Canadians out of our net. I can't stress how good he played tonight for us. A powerplay would come for the Blue Jackets with very little time remaining, but we wouldn't convert, and it would be yet another overtime game for the Columbus Blue Jackets!  

 The Canadians would open the 5-minute overtime period with a kill on their penalty from the end of regulation. The three-on-three would be compelling, both teams going back and forth at opening period pace. At 3:56, Canadians' Cole Caufield would jump one over Merzlikins' shoulder, and this game would end with a 4-3 win in OT for them. Ugh. This overtime would yield the Blue Jackets a single point, but this one stings as bad as the last game's loss during extra hockey. Penalties hurt us in the end; we had this game until we started making simple mistakes they made us pay dearly for in roughly the last twenty-five minutes of regulation. 

Emil Bemstrom takes the Third Star tonight with a doub powerplay showing. 

Elvis Merzlikins would finish with a .852 Save Percentage after stopping 24 out of 27 Canadian shots. It's sad, really, because he had a great night. If not for him, this game wouldn't have even seen overtime; I can guarantee you that. 

We now sit at 3-2-2, but Saturday is a new day and will be fun. Nationwide Arena will open its doors for Hockey Halloween 2023! The New York Islanders will be in town, and we'll meet them at Center Ice at 7:00 p.m.   

Go CBJ!