Columbus Blue Jackets recap: Gaudreaus honored before preseason win over St. Louis Blues
This one went much better.
More: Columbus Blue Jackets building new identity with 'bite' under new coach Dean Evason
Matched up against a comparable preseason lineup from the St. Louis Blues, the Blue Jackets churned out a 3-0 victory Wednesday night at Nationwide Arena to pull even at 1-1-0 with the help of several standout efforts leading the way.
After a pregame video and 13-second moment of silence to memorialize Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, the Blue Jackets — who’ve hung Gaudreau’s jersey in his locker stall — found their preseason footing in a chippy game that included physical play and several post-whistle skirmishes.
“We’re going to stand for each other here,” Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins said. “We’re not just going to let the other teams slash us or hit us. We are all here together.”
Denton Mateychuk, a rookie defenseman, netted the game’s first goal with 1:01 left in the first period, Kirill Marchenko made it 2-0 with 4:01 left in the second and Merzklikins went 19-for-19 on saves in two periods. Zach Sawchenko took over the Jackets’ net in the third, polishing off the shutout with 12 saves.
Sean Kuraly centered the Blue Jackets’ top line, assisting on their first two goals for a two-point game, while Kent Johnson notched two points with a primary assist and empty-net goal to seal it. Johnson impressed the whole game, winning puck battles, keeping possession and displaying the offensive skills that prompted the Blue Jackets to select him fifth overall in 2021.
“We’ve been seeing that for a couple weeks here,” Kuraly said of Johnson. “He’s been a dog on pucks, and you can see his mentality. It’s no secret. It’s the second effort on pucks. Even if he loses the first one, he’s hunting these pucks. It’s just the start, but he’s off to a good start.”
The Blue Jackets got off to a rough start to the preseason Monday with a 6-1 loss in Buffalo against, essentially, a full NHL lineup, but two days later they provided a glimmer of what this season could look like in Columbus under new coach Dean Evason.
Along with skilled offensive plays and aggression on the forecheck, the Blue Jackets didn’t back down an inch when the Blues took some liberties against vulnerable players and ratcheted up the game’s physicality – including Erik Gudbranson going after Matthew Kessel in the third period for a hit that appeared to include leg-on-leg contact in open ice.
“We’ve stressed right from the start a team-first mentality,” Evason said. “That’s team first, right? He didn’t do anything silly you know? He went in there, challenged the guy, gave him a little shot and it showed ‘team’ right, that they know exactly what happened and they felt there was a cheap shot or a cheap hit or whatever, and they were confronted. As a group, that’s a very positive thing.”
The Jackets play their third exhibition game Friday at the Washington Capitals.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets remember Gaudreau, blank St. Louis Blues
