The Blue Jackets tried to put a bow on Cam Atkinson’s retirement celebration, but the Colorado Avalanche weren’t in the mood to play along Oct. 16 at Nationwide Arena.
Despite Ivan Provorov putting the Blue Jackets up 1-0 early in the second period with his first goal of the season, the Avalanche stormed back for a 4-1 victory to spoil a night that began with Atkinson suiting up for one final lap around his NHL home rink for the first 10 years of his career.
Cale Makar, Brock Nelson and Valeri Nichushkin scored three unanswered goals in the second to build a 3-1 lead starting the third and Nichushkin added a second into an empty net late in the third to seal a win that kept the Avalanche (4-0-1) undefeated in regulation.
The Blue Jackets appeared to score late in the second and third periods, but both goals were called off for violations of the NHL’s hand pass rules. The first would’ve tied the game 2-2 and then second would’ve pulled the Jackets within 3-2 late in the third.
Elvis Merzlikins was one of the few bright spots for the Blue Jackets (1-3-0), making several dazzling stops among xx saves to keep the score respectable with his team outshot 37-23 for the game and outplayed most of the way.
It doesn’t get any easier for the Jackets, either.
Their next game is Oct. 18 when the Tampa Bay Lightning, another Stanley Cup contender, visits Nationwide Arena after playing Oct. 17 in Detroit.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social