Savard, Wright discuss return for Blue Jackets’ 25th Anniversary game
Tyler Wright, David Savard among Columbus Blue Jackets alumni honored during the team’s 25th Anniversary celebration Dec. 13 at Nationwide Arena.
The Columbus Blue Jackets lost their fifth consecutive game, falling 3-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights.Columbus has now lost 10 games this season in which they held a lead.Yegor Chinakhov scored his first goal in 19 games, putting the Blue Jackets ahead 2-1 in the third period.Rookie Adam Fantilli returned to the game after being struck in the face by a high stick late in the third period.
The Blue Jackets had two main goals Dec. 13 at Nationwide Arena.
The first was to end a four-game losing streak. The second, right up there with the first, was increasing their commitment to playing “the right way,” against the Vegas Golden Knights, a Stanley Cup contender.
In the end, they accomplished the second goal without achieving the first, losing their fifth straight game 3-2 after taking a 2-1 lead on Yegor Chinakhov’s goal 4:49 into the third period. Despite feeling better about how they played overall, the Blue Jackets (13-13-6) again spun their wheels by losing for the 10th time in a game they held a lead.
Two more leads vanished against Vegas − 1-0 in the second and 2-1 in the third − and the latter was the Jackets’ 11th blown lead in a third period. They all have been frustrating, but this one had to feel galling after working hard in practice Dec. 12 to address their level of dedication.
“We played our (tails) off,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. “It’s unfortunate we didn’t get rewarded. They played hard. They played right. For whatever reason, we’re not catching a break here and there, (hit) a couple of posts, but we have to keep working, obviously, (and) doing all the right things. Continue to do that and things will go good.”
Here are five takeaways:
Almost a minute after Chinakhov’s goal broke a 1-1 tie early in the third, the Blue Jackets’ second forward line headed for the bench after defenseman Brendan Smith chipped the puck out of the Columbus zone.
It might have looked at ice level like a good spot to change lines, but Golden Knights defenseman Kaedan Korczak made the Jackets regret it by collecting the puck in the neutral zone and zipping a re-entry feed to Mitch Marner just outside the Columbus blue line.
Before Sean Monahan, Dmitri Voronkov and Isac Lundestrom could get comfortable on the Blue Jackets’ bench, the Golden Knights had a 3-on-2 situation deep in the Columbus zone. Marner hit defenseman Ben Hutton with a pass in the slot and he beat goalie Jet Greaves with a wrist shot that tied it 2-2 just 1:03 after Chinakhov’s goal.
It was the 11th time the Blue Jackets have blown a lead in the third period, and the loss dropped their record to 4-2-5 in those games. At least this one didn’t happen in the late stages of the third, as most of the ones that preceded it did.
Two of the Golden Knights’ goals were scored with excellent shots by Pavel Dorofeyev to tie it 1-1 on a power play 41 seconds into the second period and Brayden McNabb with 6:47 left to break a 2-2 tie with the eventual winner.
Dorofeyev beat Greaves inside the right post from the right circle with a one-timer off Marner’s feed, making the goalie pay for being a touch late closing off the short-side angle. McNabb sent his shot over Greaves’ left shoulder and under the crossbar from a sharp angle on the short side, giving Marner his third primary assist of the game.
McNabb’s feet were on the goal line when the puck left his stick, but Greaves didn’t sidestep his part of the goal.
“I think it’s both,” he said. “Yes, it’s a really good shot by him but at the end of the day I have to make that save, especially at that time of the game. So, it’s something to learn from, for sure. I saw it. He put it into a good spot in the net, but I have to make that save.”
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Yegor Chinakhov breaks scoring drought
It was a long 19 games between goals for Chinakhov, which is why he looked more relieved than excited to put the Blue Jackets up 2-1 at 4:49 of the third. In fact, he demonstrably “removed” an imaginary monkey from his back before celebrating with teammates.
It’s been a challenging season for Chinakhov, whose summer trade request didn’t result in a trade. After starting the season as a healthy scratch, he’s been used primarily on the fourth line and is averaging a career-low 10:03 in ice time per game. He’s had a couple one-game trials on lines higher up the lineup, but moved right back to the fourth after not making an instant impact.
He’d still prefer to be traded, but continues to do what he can in a limited role. Evason and assistant Mike Haviland, who manages the power play, used Chinakhov during an extended power play in the final 2:59 after McNabb high-sticked Adam Fantilli in the face.
“It’s pretty good for me (to score), so I can feel better, more confident, but we still need to win the game,” he said.
Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli makes impressive return after facial injury
McNabb’s stick came up and struck Fantilli in the nose as he charged to the net on a rush with Kirill Marchenko late in the third. Fantilli stayed on the ice, prone, before being helped to his feet and skating off leaving a trail of blood on the ice.
McNabb was assessed a double-minor penalty for high-sticking, which would’ve extended into overtime had the Blue Jackets tied it, but the Golden Knights didn’t get to that point. Fantilli, however, returned to the game quickly after getting something to stem the bleeding and sprinting back toward the bench to rejoin the game.
“I don’t even know where he was leaking (blood from),” Evason said. “He’s as gritty as anybody. He’s going to come back if he can come back.”
David Savard says Columbus Blue Jackets ‘knew right away’ that Zach Werenski had star potential
David Savard, an alum honored during the Jackets’ latest 25th Anniversary celebration weekend, had played in five NHL seasons when Zach Werenski broke into the league in 2016-17 as a dynamic rookie. Selected eighth overall in 2015, Werenski played his sophomore season at the University of Michigan before starting his professional career that spring by joining the AHL’s Erie Monsters, now the Cleveland Monsters.
After helping the Monsters win the AHL’s Calder Cup, Werenski started his NHL career in Columbus and made an instant impression as a young star with 11 goals, 36 assists and 47 points. It didn’t take long for Savard or his veteran peers to realize the new kid was special.
“You could tell right away,” Savard said. “The game’s different when you go from college to pro, and right away, when he showed up on our team, he had a special talent of just finding ways to create offense.”
Werenski has since improved his defensive game and taken on a key leadership role after learning the ropes from guys like Savard, Jack Johnson and his former defensive partner, Seth Jones. He finished runner up last season for the Norris Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL’s top defenseman, and could be a finalist again with what he’s doing this season.
Savard, who became close friends with Werenski prior to being traded in 2021, hopes to see him win it.
“I think everyone on the team knew he could do it, but I think he really ran with it, and he’s been dominating the NHL, honestly, as one of the best defensemen,” Savard said. “It’s fun to see him carry the team in a way. I think he’s the heartbeat, because when he’s going, the team is going. It’s fun to see him get all this responsibility and he deserves everything.”
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.socialÂ