COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Brendan Gaunce and Dmitri Voronkov scored second-period goals and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1 in their preseason opener Sunday afternoon.
Gaunce opened the scoring early in the second, assisted by Voronkov, and Luca Del Bel Belluz made it 2-0 later in the period off feeds from Jake Christiansen and Voronkov. Nikita Alexandrov pulled the Blues within one with assists from Gabriel Carbonneau and Milan Lucic late in the 2nd.
Voronkov restored a two-goal lead with just over two minutes left in the third and Mathieu Olivier sealed it with an empty-netter in the closing minute, assisted by Brendan Smith.
The first period was a feeling-out process as both teams looked to shake off the rust of the offseason. Penalties included a tripping call on Columbus’ Yegor Chinakhov and fighting majors to Smith and St. Louis’ Will Bitten.
Columbus outshot St. Louis 22-21. Both teams went scoreless on the power play, with the Blues 0 for 3 and the Blue Jackets 0 for 2.
Ivan Fedotov stopped 14 of 15 shots and Evan Gardner made six saves for Columbus. Joel Hofer had 13 saves on 15 shots for St. Louis.
The Blue Jackets continue their preseason at home on Monday night when they host the Buffalo Sabres at 7:00 p.m. The game will be available on Fan Duel Sports Network and the Blue Jackets Radio Network.