Columbus Blue Jackets @ Minnesota Wild: 2024-25 NHL Season Game 1

It's already been a rough start to the season for the Columbus Blue Jackets. We learned today that Boone Jenner, our Captain, will be absent for a good part of this 2024-25 NHL Season.  I wish him well in his recovery from shoulder surgery yesterday and hope to see him back on the ice when he's ready. Aside from this news, Dimitri Vornonkov is also out and expected to miss a hefty amount of time this season too. Again, I wish him the very best in recovery from whatever injury he suffered this preseason. It also goes without saying that the greatest loss this season is the passing of legendary forward and all-around great human, Johnny Gaudreau. His absence from the ice will be a heavy reminder of what could've been tonight, opening night, and long past this season's close. My thoughts are still with his family and my prayers go out to everyone he knew and inspired. 

That all said, there's still a hockey game to recap tonight amid all the uncertainty and sorrow. It is exciting to be back cheering on the Blue Jackets with you all. So, let's go Jackets, and let's recap some hockey! The opening period would show a revamped Blue Jackets team led by an incredible veteran coach; welcome Dean Evanson! Elvis Merzlikins would be locked in and the team before him would play in sync until the very end of period 1 when an expert screen by the Wild would allow a puck by Merzzlikins. The goal would be credited to M. Boldy with assists going to M. Johansson and J. Brodin. The goal would be the only one of this period, putting the Wild up 1-0 at 17:51.

Now, I'll be honest with you, I'm a bit mad at myself. I told my best friend that it would be cool if Kent Johnson scored the first goal of the season due to the impact Johnny Gaudreau had on his hockey career. Sadly, I didn't post this theory anywhere today as I planned, so you're just going to have to take my word that I said this last night because tonight Kent Johnson proved me right! His goal would come at 2:00 into the second period, giving Cole Sillinger and Damon Severson the first Blue Jackets assists of the 2024-25 Season. The Blue Jackets would appear to have a second goal not long after from James Van Riemsdyk, but it would be reversed due to goaltender interference. The Wild would then match this goal with a shot from J. Eriksson at 16:35. The primary assist would be the second tonight for M. Johansson while the secondary assist would be the first this season for M. Boldy. This would be the final goal of the second period, and the Wild would maintain their one-goal lead with a 2-1 score. 

The Blue Jackets would come out with passion in the third period. Unfortunately, the Wild would make it 3-1 on the powerplay. Sean Monahan would go off the ice for two minutes due to tripping and with under a minute left to kill M. Zuccarello would slide one past Elvis Merzlikins. M. Boldy would be the second Wild player to have two assists tonight, picking up the primary assist on the team's third goal this evening. The secondary would go to K. Kaprizov. This would give the Wild their largest lead of the evening; two goals. Time would begin to slip away, but the Blue Jackets weren't done yet! Zach Werenski would have his first goal of the season at 17:06! Yegor Chinakov would have his first assist of the season while Kent Johnson would also have his first assist, taking the secondary assist, while also becoming the first Blue Jacket this season with a multipoint game. Elvis Merzlikins would leave the net, but no matter how hard the Blue Jackets pushed they couldn't come up with the tying goal. They would prevent the Wild from doing the same, though, so it was a dignified and hard-fought one-goal loss. The final was Wild 3, Blue Jackets 2. The final shots on goal were 26 for the Wild and 32 for the Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins finished with a .885 save percentage, accomplishing this on 23 saves. All in all, for a season opener on the road, the Blue Jackets had a great performance tonight, and congratulations to Kent Johnson on his 1-1-2. 

Our next game will be on Saturday as the Blue Jackets travel to Colorado to face the Avalanche. That game will start at 9:00 p.m. 

Go CBJ!         







 

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