Columbus Blue Jackets @ New York Islanders: 2024-25 NHL Season Game 70

It's been a rough few games for the Columbus Blue Jackets, but, this morning, the team got some great news. Forward Sean Monahan and defenseman Erik Gudbrandson would rejoin the team tonight in New York at the Islanders. Sean Monahan has been absent since the start of the year after having surgery to repair a wrist injury while Erik Gudbranson barely played at all this season, going out just a few games in and requiring shoulder surgery and a lengthy recovery period. It's so good to hear their names announced during play, and having them back tonight, I think, added a jolt to this talented but struggling team. Let's recap some hockey, 5th Line!

Period one wouldn't go the Blue Jackets way, but, before you lose faith, be a life-long fan and stick around and don't get discouraged. That said, we have to get through this period to get to the good stuff, okay? The Islanders would get on the board first with a goal at 13:16 from P. Engvall, and this would become goal six of this season. Former Blue Jacket, A. Boqvist, would add his eight assists on the primary while T. DeAngelo would add his twelfth assist this season on the secondary. This would be followed by another goal for the Islanders, taking their lead to 2-0. This goal would come at 1841, and it would become goal twenty-two this season for K. Palmieri. B. Horvat would pick up the primary assist, giving him twenty-five this season while R. Pulock would pick up the secondary assist, giving him fifteen this season. This period would wrap up with the Islanders having that two-goal lead. But, remember what I said, period two is so much better for the Blue Jackets. 

Adam Famtilli would fire a laser shot to score the first goal of the game for the Blue Jackets at 5:31 in period two. The goal would be his twenty-second this season. The primary assist would go to Dante Fabro, becoming his twelfth assist this season. In addition, the secondary assist would be a rare goalie assist for Elvis Merzlikins, his first of the season. What a moment for him! Boone Jenner would complete the comeback, tying the game 2-2 with a shorthanded goal at 17:13! For those keeping count, his second goal this season marks the ninth shorty of the season. Sean Monahan would have the only assist on this goal in his first game back, giving him twenty-eight this season, and, man, it's good to see his points go up again, finally! Unfortunately, A. Lee would score his twenty-eighth goal this season at 19:12, giving his Islanders back their lead. The primary assist would go to M. Riley, giving him two this season while former Blue Jacket, A. Boqvist, would add his second assist tonight and ninth this season on the secondary. The Blue Jackets would decide to challenge this goal for goaltender interference against Elvis Merzlikins, but it would be ruled a good goal. So, the Blue Jackets would have to gain ground still as the period would end with an Islanders lead, 3-2, and have to kill the rest of an Islanders powerplay, but they would enter period three in far better shape than when entering period two, that's for sure! 

First and foremost, the Blue Jackets would successfully kill the remaining Islanders' powerplay time. Then, at the 12:56 mark, after several faceoffs, Kirill Marchenko would shoot one home to tie the game at 3-3 with his twenty-sixth goal this season! The primary assist would become number twenty-three this season for Ivan Provorov while the secondary assist would become the second tonight, twenty-ninth this season, for Sean Monahan. In the final seconds, the Islanders would appear to score, but the goal was waved off immediately by one of the referees. This happened because an Islanders player tried to screen Elvis Merzlikins, but bumped him and the puck went into the goal before Elvis Merzlikins could reset to stop it. Toronto would review the play for what felt like a full season before coming back and saying it was 'no goal' siding with the referee who called it off. The Blue Jackets and Islanders would go on to release the final 00:08 of period three. Each team would gain a point, but both teams were hungry for the second, now more than ever.

In this overtime period, Elvis Merzlikins would make his paycheck for the night, having many glorious saves. The same could be said for the whole team, something we haven't seen for a few games. The shots were plenty and of good quality, and the same could be said for the islanders, too. No one would score, though, so we'd go to a shoot-out! 

A. Duclare would lose the puck in round one and lose his chance to score on Elvis Merzlikins. Kent Johnson would be stopped by I. Sorokin. 

K. Palmieri would be stopped by Elvis Merzlikins, and then Adam Fantilli would come up huge with a backhand goal! 

B. Horvat would fire it high, the puck not making it to Elvis Merzlikins, and that's all she wrote as the Blue Jackets take the second point, winning 4-3 in a shootout. They secure two massive points that they definitely needed, especially before coming home to play the Vancouver Canucks on Friday at home! That game does start at 7:00 p.m. and it is Kids Takeover Night at Nationwide Arena. That should be so fun for families who love hockey. 

The Third Star of the Game is the newly returned Sean Monahan. #23 had a 0-2-2 night. 

The Second Star of the Game is Kirill Marchenko who found the equalizer to send this game to overtime. He finished tonight with a 1-0-1 night. 

The First Star of the Game is Adam Fantilli, who scored the first goal of the game and then the shootout winner in Round 2. He finished with a 1-0-1 night as the shootout goal doesn't count toward his nightly total.  

73 points and still rolling, 5th Line. Don't lose faith!

GO CBJ!