by The Columbus Blue Jackets kicked off the new year by facing off against the Buffalo Sabers on Saturday, January 3, then took on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, January 4, at Nationwide Arena. The Jackets were able to end the Sabers’ ten-game winning streak on Saturday night, but fell short against the Penguins on Sunday. Zach Werenski returned to the ice to help his team after missing four games due to an ankle injury.
The Blue Jackets defeated the Sabers 5-1 on Saturday to secure the first win of the new year. The first goal of the game was scored by Denton Mateychuk at 3:00 in the first period and was assisted by Boone Jenner and Zach Werenski. Buffalo managed to tie the game at 1-1 when they scored their first goal at 11:26 in the first period, but it was quickly followed by two more Blue Jackets goals from Brendan Gaunce at 14:04 and Dmitri Voronkov at 17:12, assisted by Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson. There was one goal scored in the second period by Mathieu Olivier at 8:04, assisted by Zach Aston-Reese and Damon Severson to bring the score to 4-1. Cole Sillinger scored the final goal of Saturday’s game at 11:46 in the third period with help from Denton Mateychuk and Zach Werenski to end the game 5-1. Jet Greaves was in goal on Saturday and saved 33 of the 34 shots on goal.
Columbus fell short in overtime against Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon, losing the game 5-4. The Penguins scored the first goal on Sunday at 1:50 of the first period, but it did not take long for the Blue Jackets to come back with three goals of their own. Dmitri Voronkov scored the Jackets’ first goal of the day at 8:21 with help from Denton Mateychuk. Mason Marchment kept the pace going, securing another goal just moments later at 8:48 with an assist from Adam Fantilli and Kirill Marchenko. The Jackets managed to score a third goal in the first period at 18:38, courtesy of Kirill Marchenko, assisted by Zach Werenski and Denton Mateychuk, to bring the score to 3-1, marking a promising start to the game.
The Blue Jackets came out ready for the second period when Zach Werenski scored a goal at 0:47 with help from Boone Jenner and Mathieu Olivier. The Penguins scored at 16:51 in the second period to bring the game to 4-2. Pittsburgh managed to tie the game in the third period, scoring goals at 3:28 and 19:46 to force the game into overtime. The Columbus Blue Jackets were unable to keep the momentum from the beginning of the game and were unable to close it out at Nationwide Arena. Jet Greaves was back in goal on Sunday and managed to save 43 of the total 48 shots on goal.
The Columbus Blue Jackets will be back on the ice on Tuesday, January 6, at the SAP Center, where they will face off against the San Jose Sharks. Puck drop is at 10 p.m. ET, and it will be available to watch on FanDuel Sports Network, ESPN+, and YouTube TV.
Image sourced from Google Images.
