The CBJ Writer

There is no better way to start a game on the 29th of any month than with a goal from 29, and that's exactly how the first goal of tonight's game happened. With his fourth goal this season, Patrik Laine would score 3:40 into the second period. His goal would stand as his alone, and the Blue Jackets would be up 1-0 after an opening period of many attempts but zero goals for both teams. During this period, we'd have plenty of goals, and not all would be ours. Case in point, Alex Newhook would answer Patrik Laine's goal at 7:36, bringing us to a 1-1 tie. Then, Yegor Chinakov would get in on the scoring with his third goal this season, and his second in the last two games, at 9:47. David Voronkov adds a seventh assist to his season total, while Zach Werenski makes history for the second time this month. Seth Jones once had ten assists in a single month, until tonight. That was the franchise record. That career highlight belongs to Zach Werenski, who scored his eleventh in N...

Oh, it's good to be back! Friday's win on the road against the New Jersey Devils was sweet, and last night's narrow loss against the Carolina Hurricanes stung. So, tonight, I was looking forward to an excellent game to recap, and boy, did I get my wish!    Period one would have a single goal, but that's all Dmitri Voronkov would need to give the home team a 1-0 lead! This goal at 15:52 marks his fourth goal of the young season, and Yegor Chinakov, with the only assist on this goal, adds his second this season. So, a 1-0 Blue Jackets lead after twenty minutes.  In the second twenty minutes, the Blue Jackets would double their goal-scoring in the first. Ivan Proverov would kick it off, taking the Jackets to a 2-0 lead at 5:38. This goal would have a primary assist from David Jiricek, his third this season, and the secondary assist would go to Cole Sillinger, his eighth this season. Then, at 16:42, Yegor Chinakov would give himself a multi-point game with his second goal t...

5TH LINE, LET'S GO! I told you this kind of game was coming, so if you gave up on this team, you can't sit with us. (Mean Girls reference, and yes, it is justified.) Captain Boone Jenner gets us going at 2:57, scoring his ninth goal this season! Zach Werencki has assist eleven on this goal, while Adam Boqvist celebrates his first! Next, it's Erik Gudbranson's turn to score his second of the season at 8:46. The only assist on this goal goes to Kiril Marchenko, who marks his sixth so far. Then, oh yes, it continues, another goal for Captain Boone Jenner, and on the powerplay, too! This goal came at 13:55, giving Johnny Gudreau his sixth assist this season and Zach Werenski his second tonight and a total of twelve. Now, of course, Conner Bedard, the 2023 Pick 1, Round 1, would score a goal at 15:41. That said, the Blue Jackets would still have a two-goal lead (3-1) going into period 2. Cole Sillinger, goal one of his season, 7:32. It's been a long time coming for him. ...

It's been a busy 24 hours as the Blue Jackets play their second away game in roughly a day. The hosting Flyers would get their first goal as Joel Farabee, 5:11 into period 1. The Blue Jackets Alexander Texier would even the odds at 1-1 with his fourth goal of this season. His goal would come at 15:02, giving Sean Kuraly and Mathieu Olivier their third assists this season. With no other goals, we'd start a fresh game in period 2 with the score 1-1. Mathieu Olivier and Nicolas Deslauriers would get into a fight during this period, too, but since nothing came of it beyond 5-minute penalties for both me, I'm not spending much time on it.  The Flyers would then have a quick start in the second twenty minutes. Bobby Brink would get the puck past Spencer Martin just 1:11 in. On our powerplay, Ryan Poehling would give his Flyers a two-goal advantage at 6:41. I'm happy to report that Captain Boone Jenner scored his eighth goal this season and got us back one at 17:57. Ivan Prove...

It was a big night in Washington. The Capitals hosted their Hockey Fights Cancer night tonight like we did Thursday. Beyond this, for the Columbus Blue Jackets, our Captain, Boone Jenner, would overtake Rick Nashe's Franchise Record for most games played in a CBJ Jersey. In addition to this, Johnny Gaudreau would also mark his 700th game in the NHL tonight. If that isn't enough for you, we still have 60 minutes of hockey to recap, so let's go! After a 0-0 first period, Johnny Gaudreau would finally get a puck past a goalie this season! This goal would be scored at 3:27, and we'd have a 1-0 lead on the road. Boone Jenner, a man of the evening, would gain his third season assist on this Gaudreau goal. Also, Damon Severson would have the secondary assist, giving him a total of five. Unfortunately, former Blue Jacket Sonny Milano would even the odds with a goal at 5:05. This was followed by a goal by Aliaksei Protas at 13:16 and then another by the living legend Alex Ovechk...

For my Cincinnati Bengals fans watching your team on Thursday Night Football, I've got you covered!  Period 1 was a lot of back and forth; good hockey, but no goals. Period 2 had way more zest. Damon Severson would give the Blue Jackets the first goal and lead of the evening at 1:45! Dmitri Voronkov would gain an assist, his sixth this season. Also, with the secondary assist on this goal, Ivan Proverov takes his total assists to eleven this season. Unfortunately, at 5:20, Barrett Hayton would match our goal with one of his own for the Coyotes. Bummer, I know, but with no other goals scored, we'd start a quest for the next tiebreaker goal.  That goal would come for the Coyotes after a penalty on Dmitri Voronkov. The powerplay goal would be scored at 9:38. This goal would be followed by another just a few seconds later from Lawson Crouse at 10:06. With the Blue Jackets in a two-goal-hole, the team would get to work, trying to gain the upper hand again. In 'better late than ne...

The game would start as a stereotypical Penguins game, with a Sidney Crosby goal at 4:10. The Blue Jackets would be down 1-0, but only for a short time. With goal number 4 at 10:29, Kirill Marchenko would knot this game like a pretzel at 1-1. Better still, Ivan Proverov has entered the double digits in the assist category on this goal with 10! Then, with seconds left, Yegor Chinakhov would add his first goal of the season into the scoring mi at 19:28. A huge welcome back to him as this was a long time coming. He started preseason with an injury, then spent some time in Cleveland before getting the call to Columbus. Way to go, 59! Speaking of injuries, while working through one currently, Erik Gudbranson would add his sixth assist on this Chinakhov goal, while Zach Werenski matches the number he wears, eight. The final seconds would tick away, and the Blue Jackets would go from a 1-0 deficit to a 2-1 lead in twenty minutes!    In period 2, though, as in typical Penguins game fa...

 My apologies, readers; I said I'd be back for the Red Wings game on Saturday, and I wasn't. I didn't realize that was a 1:00 p.m. puck drop, and I was working 12-6 p.m. I am back now, though, just in time for an entertaining matchup in Madison Square Garden!  The Blue Jackets would draw the first goal tonight at 16:26, thanks to Justin Danforth. This goal gives him four so far this NHL Season. In addition, Erik Gudbranson would earn his fourth assist, while Zach Werenski would gain his seventh. Of course, the Rangers wouldn't just let the opening period go without a goal. They would find a way past Elvis Merzlikins at 18:48. The fact this goal came from Chris Kreider, I'm sure, will shock no one. So, we would start a new game in the second period, looking for one team to go ahead of the other again.  We wouldn't have to wait long for that to happen, either. At 11:17, Alexis Lafreniere would pop one into the Blue Jackets net, and his Rangers would take a 2-1 lea...

This was a weird game.  I don't know if I've ever written that as the first line of a post, but this one game was...weird. The Florida Panthers played for the 2023 Stanley Cup, and boy, it showed in the first six minutes of this game. Ryan Lomburg scored goal one for the Panthers at 2:19. The second goal of this game for the Panthers would come at 3:09, less than a minute after goal one. Gustav Forsling would score that second goal. Then, a third one for the Panthers would come at 6:09, this time from Alexander Barkov.  So, as I watched Elvis Merzlikins come out and Spencer Martin come in, I wondered if I could wheedle my way out of writing a blog tonight. Usually, I have all the faith in the world for this team and loan it out as needed. That said, the first impression of this game looked like the most lopsided boys-to-men comparison I'd seen in a long time for our Blue Jackets. But then, I got to eat my concern, which was delicious! 'Leave it to Kuraly' should be ...

The period one, back-and-forth stalemate, would end with a medical goal by Tom Wilson at 12:31 for the Capitals. The bitter sting of a former Blue Jacket scoring would then be felt at 17:21 after a goal from Sonny Milano. Even with some hard-fought effort from the Blue Jackets, the Capitals would have a 2-goal lead going into the second twenty-minute period of play at home. Period two could have been better for the Blue Jackets. That said, they did manage to find the net at 1:38, thanks to the second goal this season by Dmitri Voronkov. Kirill Marchenko would take the primary assist, giving him a grand total of four this season. The secondary assist would be the second this season for David Jiricek. Best of all, the Blue Jackets would keep the Capitals out of their net (primarily thanks to the efforts and focus of Elvis Merzlikins in that net.) It was a 2-1 hockey game, with the Capitals holding a one-goal edge into the final regulation period.  The final period would be summed up ...

 We're officially in November hockey, 5th Line! The Blue Jackets would look to shake off their road loss to the Stars in Dallas a few days ago, and period one was a good start. Kirill Marchenko would find his way to the net for the first time this season at 8:29! Dmiri Voronkov would add assist number two to his total this season, while Cole Sillinger would gain his fourth. The Blue Jackets would hold off the Lightning for the rest of the period, maintaining their 1-0 lead.  The Lightning would come out charged and ready to play the second twenty-minute period, though. Steven Stamkos would shoot one past Elvis Merzlikins in net at 2:53. Then, 4:42 would see the Lightning snatch the lead for the first time from the Blue Jackets, thanks to Conor Sheary. We would stop hemorrhaging goals after these two, but the Lightning would carry their new 2-1 lead into the final regulation period.  During this final period, though, it was time for the Blue Jackets to take back the Nation...