Blue Jackets Snap Seven-Game Losing Streak To Montreal With 5-4 Win At Nationwide
Dmitri Voronkov(9,10), Kent Johnson(10), Jordan Harris(1), and Kirill Marchenko(13) scored the goals for the Blue Jackets. Meanwhile, Jet Greaves despite allowing four goals was outstanding for the Jackets in a 5-4 win. He made 27 saves on the night.
The Jackets finally beat the Montreal Canadiens. Before last night, the Jackets had gone 0-5-2 in their last seven, so beating the Habs must've felt great.
Patrik Laine played just 6 shifts and 6:15 of ice time. He was the recipient of four hits on Monday night, the last one from Dante Fabbro. Fabbro, who wasn't on this team with Laine, laid the hit that seemed to send Laine to the locker room, where he wouldn't return.
Now for the juicy stuff.
On Monday morning, former Blue Jacket Patrik Laine had some not-so-flattering comments about the Jackets' players and organization that some of the current Blue Jackets took personally.
Zach Werenski was asked after the game about Laine's comments and said, “It’s unfortunate, as guys here, we were nothing but good teammates to him, nothing but good friends to him. For him to bash us like that, I think it’s just unacceptable. I hope he's alright with whatever he's dealing with tonight, but he didn't finish the game. You know a couple hits, and I don't know what happened but it's unfortunate. We were nothing but good teammates to him. For him to come in here and say that stuff is bullshit. So, definitely not happy about it and none of us in this room are happy about it. I think that speaks more about him than it does us. What’s he thinking saying that? It’s just incredible. I got no more time for that, I don't want to talk about Patty anymore, hope he's alright but I just thought that was pretty ridiculous, to be honest."
You can listen to Werenski's full interview here.
Head Coach Dean Evason said after the game that he "thought our group handled it appropriately," and "they did it the right way."
Former Blue Jackets goalie Marc Denis asked Mathieu Olivier during an intermission interview, “It seems like your team has been targeting Patrik Laine tonight. Does it have (anything to do) with his comments earlier today perhaps?” Mathieu Olivier answered with "no comment."
The Blue Jackets and Canadiens won't play each other again this season, as last night concluded the season series, but it's safe to say that the Blue Jackets and Patrik Laine won't be exchanging Christmas cards.
With Monday's win, the Blue Jackets jump up to 5th in the Metro with 34 points. Below them are the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, and New York Islanders.
The Jackets go into the Christmas break with points in three straight games, going 2-0-1.
Final Stats
Player Stats
Dmitri scored two goals on the night. He now has 19 points in 26 games.
Kent Johnson scored his 10th goal of the season. He has 20 points in 21 games played.
Jordan Harris scored his 1st goal of the season.
Kirill Marchenko scored his team-leading 13th goal and had two assists. He now has 37 points in 35 games.
Zach Werenski had three assists and 7 shots on the night. He now has 35 points in 35 games. His 337 points are now 4th all-time in Columbus history.
Sean Monahan had three assists and now has 31 points.
Mathieu Olivier tallied an assist and now has 15 points.
Jet Greaves made 27 saves and got his first win of the season.
Team Stats
The Jackets went 1/3 on the power play.
The Columbus PK was perfect on the night, going 2/2.
The Blue Jackets won 47% of the faceoffs.
Columbus is now 10-4-3 at home.
What's Next - The Blue Jackets welcome the Boston Bruins into Nationwide Arena on Friday night.
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