Columbus 5, Calgary 2
When: 3:00 PM ET, Friday, November 29, 2024
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Referees:
Brandon Blandina, Carter Sandlak
Linesmen:
Devin Berg, Jesse Marquis
Attendance:
17035
By Field Level Media
Kirill Marchenko had a goal and two assists while Adam Fantilli registered his first multi-goal game of the season to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets past the visiting Calgary Flames 5-2 on Friday.
In the teams' first matchup since the deaths of former Blue Jackets and Flames star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew over the summer, Calgary goalie Dan Vladar wore a mask honoring Johnny Gaudreau. The teams will face off again on Tuesday in Calgary.
Zach Werenski (one goal, one assist) and Kent Johnson also scored and Elvis Merzlikins made 27 saves for the Blue Jackets, whose five-game point streak (4-0-1) is their longest since 2021. Dmitri Voronkov added a pair of assists.
Werenski's game-winner in the second was his eighth tally of the season, tying him with Colorado's Cale Makar for the most among NHL defensemen. Werenski's seven-game point streak equals the longest of his career.
Blake Coleman and Nazem Kadri scored for the Flames, who are 0-2-1 since a four-game win streak. Dustin Wolf stopped 29 shots in Calgary's net.
After Sean Kuraly's early semi-breakaway clanked off the crossbar, the Blue Jackets continued pressuring and grabbed a 1-0 lead just as a power play came to an end. At 11:56, Fantilli fired a shot from the left circle that sailed in over Wolf's shoulder.
Johnson doubled the Columbus lead at 16:42, shooting a wrister from the right circle that Cole Sllinger initiated at the start of a two-on-one rush.
Werenski added to the Blue Jackets' advantage 4:43 into the second. After Voronkov picked off Wolf's attempted feed up the boards, Werenski slotted home a short feed from Marchenko, who had circled the net, and neatly tucked it inside the post.
With 5:01 left in the second, Coleman brought the Flames within 3-1 by pouncing on a loose puck in front that had bounced off Rasmus Andersson off Kevin Bahl's pass from Merzlikins' left end of the goal line.
Out of the box after serving a roughing penalty on Merzlikins, Fantilli joined a two-on-one rush with Marchenko and buried a perfect pass into the right circle for a 4-1 lead less than five minutes into the third.
Kadri rushed from end-to-end and scored on a wrist shot from between the circles on the power play, cutting Calgary's deficit to 4-2 with nine minutes left in regulation. Marchenko sealed the win on an empty-net goal with 1:40 remaining.
The Flames' Justin Kirkland sustained a lower-body injury in the first period and did not return.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Calgary |
|
Columbus |
Blake Coleman 1 |
Points |
Kirill Marchenko 3 |
Blake Coleman 1 |
Goals |
Adam Fantilli 2 |
Rasmus Andersson 1 |
Assists |
Kirill Marchenko 2 |
Nazem Kadri 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Dustin Wolf .879 |
Save Percentage |
Elvis Merzlikins .931 |
Dustin Wolf 29 |
Saves |
Elvis Merzlikins 27 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Calgary
|
29 |
2 |
1-3 |
1-1 |
19 |
33 |
Columbus
|
34 |
5 |
0-1 |
2-3 |
21 |
33 |
Upcoming Games
-
Columbus will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .538 after a loss.
-
Calgary will play their next game on the road against Pittsburgh. The Flames have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .500 after a loss.