Columbus Blue Jackets @ Dallas Stars: Season 26 Game 12 Recap

First order of business: Welcome back, Ivan Provorov! 

Tuesday night in North Carolina, our Columbus Blue Jackets narrowly lost to the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2, in regulation. They pushed in period 3, down 3-0 at the start, and nearly completed the comeback against the defending Stanley Cup Champions. Not bad on the road, if you ask me. Tonight, our team remained on the road for one more game before returning home. It would be against another long-time Stanley Cup contender, the Dallas Stars. 

Period 1 would see two goals, both by the Stars. The first came early on a power play after Jet Greaves was called for delay of game when the puck jumped over the glass. Mikko Rantanen was credited with the goal at 2:19, and it was his seventh goal of the season.  The primary assist was picked up by Wyatt Johnston, his eighth this season, while the secondary was picked up by Jason Robertson, becoming his ninth assist this season. Then, all was quiet until the final second of the period, when Thomas Harley scored his first goal of the season with 00:02 remaining in the period. Since that isn't a measurable time, the goal was recorded at 19:59. Arttu Hyry would pick up his first assist of the season on the primary, while Miro Heiskanen would pick up his seventh assist of the season on the secondary. So, with an incredibly annoying, but also incredibly good shot, the Stars would head into period 2 with a 2-0 lead over our Blue Jackets. Shots on goal this period would be even, 9-9. 

In period 2, each team would have a power play, but neither would cash in on it. There would also be no goals scored, leaving us with the same score at the end as we started: Stars, 2-0. The Blue Jackets led shots on goal this period, 9-5. Our Blue Jackets were doing everything right, but the Stars have Jake Oettinger, and he's worth every penny in their net, trust me. 

Early into period 3, it would look as if Valeri Nichushkin had gotten the Blue Jackets on the board with his second goal of the season, but the Stars would challenge it for offsides. Of course, they'd win the challenge, and the score would go back to a 2-0 Stars lead. However, Damon Severson would change that with his second goal of the season at 6:21! Zach Werenski enters double digits in the assist category with his tenth this season on the primary, while Kent Johnson adds yet another point, picking up his fifth assist this season on the secondary. Just like that, and just like Tuesday night, our Blue Jackets would be within a goal of tying the game in the third period, against a favored Stanley Cup contender. If you were a Stars fan, with minutes left, you were thrilled with your goalie. Again, Jake Oettinger would deny several Blue Jackets' quality shots on his net, keeping the game at 2-1 in favor of his home team. It was in large part to him and his efforts that prevented our Blue Jackets from getting that game-tying goal. Arttu Hyry would get his fourth goal of the season at 19:59, putting the Stars up 3-1 on an empty Blue Jackets net. Jamie Benn would get on the scoreboard with his third assist of the season on the primary, while Miro Heiskanen would add another assist on the secondary, his eighth this season. That 3-1 score would go down as the final tonight in Dallas. The shots on goal this period were in favor of our Blue Jackets, 8-3.  Overall, we led shots on goal this game, 26-17, so the drive was there; Jake Oettinger's just that good, along with his Stars. There's a reason this team's been top of the league for many seasons. 

Zach Werenski, 0-1-1, would get the Third Star of the Game, while Stars' Thomas Harley, 1-0-1, got the Second Star of the Game, and Mikko Rantanen, 1-0-1, would get the First Star of the Game. 

Thankfully, our Blue Jackets will return home for their next game because we'll need the home ice and crowd advantage for this one. Tuesday night, the Colorado Avalanche come to battle in Nationwide Arena. Last season, they made it to the Western Conference Final, and most of their team from last season remains. They're currently 7-5-1, but don't let those losses fool you; they will battle for every inch of ice and point. Hopefully, our Blue Jackets do the same and play spoiler. The game will start at 7:00 p.m.!

Go CBJ!          


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