The Chicago Blackhawks (22-26-9) had a nightmarish final game before the three-week break, falling 4-0 to the red-hot Columbus Blue Jackets (29-20-7) at Nationwide Arena on Wednesday. It’s the Blackhawks’ second defeat in five days to the Blue Jackets and the sixth loss overall in their last seven appearances going into the Olympics.
Not only did the Blackhawks get shut out for the fourth time this season, as Blue Jackets’ netminder Jet Greaves stopped all 21 shots faced, but two players were also forced to exit early due to injury. Wyatt Kaiser left the game in the first period after Zach Werenski fell onto his left leg, and Colton Dach departed early in the second period following a physical board battle with Erik Gudbranson.
For Kaiser in particular, there is concern that he suffered a serious injury in Columbus. The 23-year-old defenseman had his leg fold awkwardly as Werenski’s weight came crashing down. Kaiser was on all fours, clearly in discomfort, and was then helped off the ice by his teammates. He did not return to the game. Losing Kaiser would be disastrous for the Blackhawks, as he’s arguably been the team’s top blue-liner this season.
Down to only five defensemen and 11 forwards for most of the night, the Blackhawks didn’t stand a chance against a red-hot Blue Jackets club that cruised to their seventh consecutive win on Wednesday. Charlie Coyle, who tallied a hat trick and four points in the first meeting at the United Center last Friday, had another multi-point effort with two assists.
Werenski, Ivan Provorov, Danton Heinen, and Sean Monahan (EN) tallied the four goals for Columbus, as they move to 10-1-0 in 11 games since Rick Bowness took over as head coach.
Here are the highlights from the Blackhawks’ 4-0 loss to the Blue Jackets in their final game for 22 days.
FIRST PERIOD
The Blue Jackets were on the receiving end of a fortuitous bounce to open the scoring at 4:46 of the first period, as Werenski’s shot from a tough angle pinballed into the back of the net. The puck deflected off both Louis Crevier and Alex Vlasic before finding its way past Spencer Knight. 1-0, Columbus. It’s Werenski’s team-leading 20th goal of the season, becoming the first defenseman to reach 20 goals this season.
Here’s a replay of Kaiser getting injured just over seven minutes into the game. Werenski got checked by Sam Rinzel, and all of his weight came crashing down on Kaiser’s left leg. That didn’t look good.
Another left-handed defenseman for the Blue Jackets found the back of the net to double the lead, as Provorov snuck backdoor and housed a feed from Adam Fantilli at 12:50. 2-0, Columbus. Dickinson got caught puck watching momentarily, although, it didn’t help that Ryan Donato went for an early change during the sequence.
The Blackhawks had very little going offensively in the period, as the Blue Jackets led 8-5 in shots on goal and 9-3 in scoring chances. The home squad remained ahead 2-0 going into the intermission.
SECOND PERIOD
Columbus added to its lead early in the second period, as Coyle set up Heinen at the far post to make it 3-0 at 5:17. Former Blue Jackets’ captain Nick Foligno fired an errant pass into Donato’s skates, leading to a turnover. Coyle scooped up the puck and fired a pass over to Heinen in front. Make that six points for Coyle in two games against Chicago this year.
Here’s the replay of Dach getting injured while battling with Gudbranson behind the Blue Jackets’ net. There wasn’t anything in particular that caught the eye, so hopefully, he just got a little dinged up. However, Dach wasn’t feeling well enough to return to the game.
After a quiet opening 30 minutes, the Blackhawks woke up in the final half of the period but still couldn’t get the puck past Greaves. Columbus held onto the 3-0 lead going into the second intermission.
THIRD PERIOD
One of the best looks of the night for the Blackhawks came off Connor Bedard’s stick, as Oliver Moore made some sharp moves to set him up for a one-timer at the left circle with just over 13 minutes remaining. Bedard clapped a slapshot on target, but Greaves moved from post to post quickly to make the save. Still 3-0.
The Blackhawks pulled Knight to get the extra attacker onto the ice with five minutes to play. But Tyler Bertuzzi coughed up the puck before the 6-on-5 could get set up, and Monahan raced down ice and hit the empty net to seal the win at 15:33. 4-0, Columbus.
The final horn sounded at Nationwide Arena, sending the Blackhawks to a disappointing loss in their last game for over three weeks. They’ll return to action next on Feb. 26 against the Nashville Predators.
For more Blackhawks news, visit Chicago Hockey Now and like our Facebook Page.
Follow us on X: