Carolina Hurricanes @ Columbus Blue Jackets: 4/17/24 Game Recap

 Last night was a very big night in Columbus, Ohio. Personally, I went to watch the game with friends, and that's why I'm writing this post later than normal. I hope you understand, readers. I'm so happy I got to watch the game because we had Jeff Rimer's final broadcast as the Columbus Blue Jackets play-by-play announcer. That concept alone brought many tears to my eyes multiple times throughout the evening. Hearing the 5th Line chant 'Rimer' is something I'll never forget. This goes double for watching him announce the lineup in the locker room pregame, a classy move by Head Coach Pascal Vincent. I could go on and on, but we have a Blue Jackets WIN to recap, and I know Jeff would want me to move on from dating over him (even if it's easier said than done!)

This night would start with some Michigan magic in the air as yet another player from the University joins the ranks. The accolades for Gavin Brindley are long, and I, for one, can't wait to watch him add NHL moments to it. Tonight, his first was checking the box beside 'First NHL Game.' He wasn't the only one to do this as Cleveland Monster's Luca Del Bel Belluz made the trip to Columbus today with the promise of his first NHL Game awaiting him as well. I've watched Brindley play in Michigan and watch him be drafted by the Blue Jackets. I've watched Del Bel Belluz play in the Blue Jackets Training Camp. So, saying that tonight was extra exciting for me was an understatement. Del Bel Belluz and I share the same birthday month and day, so I really wanted to see my fellow Scorpio score a goal. That said, no one was prepared to watch his first shot go in at 3:37! With the excitement in Nationwide Arena, you probably didn't hear my scream in Hilliard, but I can assure you, it was loud. Another young Blue Jacket, Mikael Pyyhtia, would acquire his second NHL assist this season. Zach Werenski's forty-fifth assist this season would command another scream of joy and triumph, as he would become the franchise's record holder for Most Assists by a Defenseman in a season with forty-five! Considering this was the first Blue Jackets shot of the game, the bar was set high for the remaining fifty-six minutes, but the Blue Jackets were up for the challenge. Case in point, it was Zach Werenski's turn to get a goal at 5:24! Both Cole Sillinger and Kirill Marchenko would each add their nineteenth assists this season. The Hurricanes are Stanley Cup playoff-bound, so, of course, they're not going to stop pushing for points. Jesperi Kotkaniemi would score his twelfth goal at 7:10, and his teammate, Teuvo Teravainen, would score his twenty-fourth goal at 18:16. James Malatesta would have something to say about this game going to its first intermission with a 2-2 tie at 19:01, though, scoring his second goal this season! This would allow the home team to gain back their lead and give Mathieu Oliver his sixth assist and Sean Kuraly his ninth this season. After the final 0:59 ticked away, we'd have a 3-2 hockey game with forty minutes still to go, and it did not calm down!

Teuvo Teravainen would score a second goal this game and his twenty-fifth goal this season at 10:16. Johnny Gaudreau would quickly create separation again, taking his team up 4-3 with his twelfth goal this season at 12:18. Justin Danforth would add his sixteenth assist this season while Zach Werenski would pick up his second of the night, giving himself forty-six. The remainder of this period would be scoreless, and thus, the Blue Jackets would hold a one-goal lead. 

Period three would be the climax of the game as the Blue Jackets would be the only team to score, and not just once, but twice! First up, Alex Nylander, adding his eleventh goal since joining the Blue Jackets just twenty-three games ago! Erik Gudbranson would join the scoring list with his nineteenth assist this season, and so would Ivan Provorov with his twenty-seventh. The final goal this season would be at 19:21, and I think it's fitting that Zach Werenski scored this goal. It was his eleventh this season, one full of historic moments. He'd also complete the 2-2-4 evening that Jeff Rimer challenged him to complete when he gave the starting lineup and motivational speech before the team took the ice for their final 2023-24 NHL Season Game and his last as their play-by-play announcer. Mathieu Oliver would add his seventh assist this season and second tonight, while Erik Gudbranson would finish the season with an even twenty. Once the final seconds flew by, the Blue Jackets had locked up a 6-3 win to send us all into the offseason, and Jeff Rimer into retirement, happy. 

The 2-2-4 evening gave Zach Werenski the First Star of the Game. 

Luca Del Bel Belluz gets the Second Star of the Game tonight for his first NHL Goal, which kicked off last evening's scoring. 

Teuvo Teravainen would enjoy the 2-0-2 evening with the Third Star of the Game. 

Jet Greaves would finish the evening as the Blue Jackets' only goalie with a .927%. The Hurricanes sent forty-one shots his way, and he stopped thirty-eight. I'm confident we'll see much more from him in the NHL next season. 

And just like that, 5th Line, we've come to yet another end of a Columbus Blue Jackets NHL Season. For how long it seemed with all the injuries, I still find myself surprised at how fast the last seven months have gone. I thank you all for continuing to read my posts. I'll be celebrating my fourth anniversary of writing for this team on May 7th, the original date when Skullking Sports hired me, and in November, it will be two years since I left there and started this blog. I love this team, and I can't thank you all enough for allowing me to have a dream I never knew I needed until it fell in my lap during the pandemic. 

With that said, I don't expect this offseason to be a slow one. The team has to hire a new General Manager, who will decide on the team's leadership, player contracts, and trades. They also need to settle in before the 2024 NHL Draft in late June. So, even as the 2023-24 NHL Season comes to an end for our Columbus Blue Jackets, there's still plenty ahead. After all, with us not in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoff Race, our 2024-25 NHL Season begins tomorrow. 

CBJ! CBJ! CBJ!