Columbus Blue Jackets show signs of maturing in OT win over Edmonton Oilers
EDMONTON, Alberta — Brad Larsen couldn’t help himself.
The opportunity for sarcasm was placed on a tee at the Blue Jackets’ morning skate Wednesday with a question about facing “the best player in the world,” at Rogers Place and the second-year head coach crushed it.
“Well, you’ve got to be focused and sharp,” he began. “And … I think you’re talking about McDavid, right? Yeah, well, Draisaitl’s not bad either. Nugent-Hopkins. You can go through their lineup and there’s some pretty dangerous guys.”
Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and the Edmonton Oilers are indeed “some pretty dangerous guys,” on a hockey rink and the Blue Jackets were challenged with containing them in the second leg of a road trip to Western Canada and Seattle. Thanks to goalie Joonas Korpisalo's 34 saves and huge goals by rookies Kirill Marchenko and Kent Johnson, they cleared a tall hurdle with a 3-2 overtime victory that snapped Edmonton’s six-game winning streak.
“You start to believe in yourselves and know that you can stay in any game,” Larsen said after Johnson's goal ended it 2:29 into OT. “Continue to check. Play hard and battle. Block shots. Do all the things required to win some games.”
Defending “in layers,” should also be thrown in there along with taking care of the puck.
Unlike a heated 4-3 overtime loss Monday in Calgary, when the Blue Jackets overcame a rough start rife with turnovers in Johnny Gaudreau’s first return to Scotiabank Saddledome, this time they didn’t cough it up as much. Columbus got through an early push by the Oilers, a couple goals allowed in the second period and another late push from Edmonton at the end of regulation.
Marchenko tied it with a tremendous individual effort at 11:26 of the third for his 11th goal of the season and Johnson ended it in 3-on-3 OT with a snipe from between the circles. Captain Boone Jenner scored the Blue Jackets’ other goal in regulation, opening the scoring in the first with a great tip of Adam Boqvist’s shot off a faceoff.
It was the Blue Jackets’ third straight game with at least a point and second win in that span (2-0-1).
They’ve had a lot of painful losses this season, so heading to Vancouver after a performance like this in Edmonton — where they hadn't won since 2017-18 — was elating despite the loss of forward Gustav Nyquist to an upper-body injury.
“We’re not there yet,” Larsen said of his team’s growing confidence. “The good thing is you’re in two tough environments here the last couple games and (we) didn’t take a step back at all. We lose a guy like Gus, you know how much I use him, and guys stepped up. That’s a positive sign. It’s great to see and just keep pushing forward here.”
A new memorable goal for Kent Johnson in OT win over Edmonton Oilers
This was the first NHL game Johnson played in Edmonton, but his overtime winner wasn’t his first OT goal at Rogers Place. He also scored in overtime for Canada last August to lift his home country to a gold medal in the 2022 world junior championships.
Johnson also scored his only lacrosse-style goal in that tournament and finished with three goals, six assists and nine points in seven games to finish seventh among all players in scoring.
Flash forward to Wednesday’s game for the Blue Jackets and Johnson again found himself on the ice in a 3-on-3 overtime with the puck on his stick in the offensive zone. After getting it from Gaudreau, he sharply cut to the slot area between the circles and fired a wrist shot that beat Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner past the glove.
It wasn’t quite a special as a golden goal for Canada, but it’s up there among Johnson’s top memories since leaving the University of Michigan to sign with the Blue Jackets last spring. Next up is Rogers Arena in Vancouver, where he’s watched a lot of Vancouver Canucks games as a fan.
“When we got here (to Edmonton), I was thinking about how cool it was to be back on this ice,” Johnson said. “Then I was like, ‘In Vancouver, it’ll probably be even cooler.’ It’ll be pretty amazing being between the glass there.”
Kirill Marchenko continues to shine for Columbus Blue Jackets
The NHL needs to prepare for another Kirill “The Thrill,” from Russia with a slick scoring touch and a flare for the dramatic. The original is Kirill “The Thrill” Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild, who has taken the league by storm the past three years with career numbers of 101 goals, 115 assists and 216 points in 182 games.
The new "thrill" wears a man bun, began the season in the American Hockey League, is rarely spotted without a smile and already has 11 NHL goals in 25 games during his rookie season. The latest was a tremendous individual effort to tie it 2-2 at 11:36 of the third Wednesday against the Oilers.
After getting the puck below the goal line off Johnson’s shot that hit the left post, Marchenko cut inside and bulled his way to the net. Skinner stopped his first shot, but the 6-foot-3, 187-pound Russian forward followed up from one knee.
It was a play that showed his size, strength and drive along with a knack for scoring big goals.
Combined with his first NHL hat trick Jan. 5 against the Carolina Hurricanes, Marchenko has four goals in the past 10 games and ranks fourth in the league for goal-scoring among rookie skaters. In terms of goals-per game, his sizzling 0.44 tops the league’s first-year skaters.
“What we’ve seen with ‘Marchy’ is he can score different ways,” Larsen said. “He’s not just a rush guy. He’s not just a ‘sit at the dot and one-time guy.’ He’s strong on pucks. And that move that he made (against the Oilers), that’s a power forward move to get from below the goal line to the other side of the net and stay on it. That’s hard to do. I know he’s played with men (in Russia), but he’s finding different ways to score. That’s a positive sign for him.”
Joonas Korpisalo inspires Columbus Blue Jackets with dazzling stop
Late in the second, the Oilers took a 2-1 lead on a power-play goal by Zach Hyman ― which he scored with half his body in the crease behind Korpisalo and Gaudreau in the penalty box. Hyman wasn’t called for goaltender interference and redirected a pass from McDavid into the net for another goal by Edmonton’s powerhouse power play.
Earlier in that man-advantage, Korpisalo made a lunging, desperation stop with his glove that should instantly be considered for “save of the year” throughout the league. Spotting Hyman with the puck in the slot, Korpisalo just got his glove over in time after the Oilers forward passed it to Draisaitl for a one-timer from the right faceoff circle that looked like a sure goal.
It went straight into the Korpisalo’s glove and gave the Blue Jackets’ bench a boost.
“It’s just instincts,” Korpisalo said. “I think it was Hyman who got the puck in front of the net and I thought he was going to shoot there. It’s a good shooting spot, but he still made that one extra pass and I tried to get something in front.”
Hyman scored 37 seconds later, but the buzz from Korpisalo’s save still resonated on the Columbus bench.
“Lately, he’s been really sticky,” defenseman Erik Gudbranson said. “He’s giving us a lot of faceoffs, especially when we need them. Those are key. Sometimes you get those drawn-out shifts against top lines and if he can catch a puck that gives you a change, that’s huge. His rebound control’s been awesome and he’s been playing confident and we’re feeding off him for sure.”
Mathieu Olivier delivering toughness for Columbus Blue Jackets
The scorecard of Mathieu Olivier’s fight Monday in Calgary against Milan Lucic might be visible for the remainder of this trip.
There’s a cut on his left cheek. There’s a cut across the bridge of his nose. The swelling under his left eye has diminished, but there’s still evidence of bruising on both cheeks. He looks like a guy who's been in a car accident and his wife’s livid about it, after watching her husband fight in three straight games.
The first two went well for the Blue Jackets' power forward, but the third is why his face looks the way it does. Lucic’s right hand rammed into it four or five times to end the scrap, leaving the guy staring back in the mirror looking good to only hockey players.
“Oh, it just looks bad,” Olivier said. “I feel great. Don’t I look great? I look fantastic right now. I think I look fantastic. I don’t see the issue.”
The issue is the inherent health risks that hockey players take when engaging in that part of the game, which only carries the in-game ramification of a five-minute major penalty assessed to each combatant. Olivier is working on other facets of his game as a fourth-line grinder, but his ability and willingness to throw punches is the main ticket buying him time in the sport’s top league.
It’s a trade-off he accepted a long time ago. It’s also something he’s good at, despite giving up a few inches in reach occasionally to guys like Lucic.
“I’m more than willing and I know what I’m doing, but I’m not that tall, so most of the time I’m going to be fighting guys that are bigger and taller than me,” Olivier said. “That’s something I’ve got to manage, but it was fine. I thought it was a good bout. There were some good toe-to-toe moments in there and, you know … I know the risks. I’ll say it like that. So, it’s fine.”
His wife disagrees, but his parents understand. Olivier’s dad, Simon, once racked up 302 penalty minutes in 64 games in 1997-98 for the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League and his mom grew all-too-familiar with the bruises.
"My mom’s seen her fair share of ‘permanent makeup’ coming in the house like that, so she was just like, ‘Oh, brings back memories,’” Olivier said. “My wife was not happy, but I let her know early that she might not be happy quite often. But it’s fine. At the end of the day, if I’m happy and healthy, I think she’ll get over it.”
Blankenburg renewing acquaintances on Columbus Blue Jackets' trip
Nick Blankenburg had two special guests in attendance Monday in Calgary and Wednesday in Edmonton.
Lori and Reece Kosek, his billet “parents” from one season with the Okotoks Oilers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League watched him play in person both games. They also had dinner with Blankenburg in Calgary, a 20-minute drive from the town where he earned a walk-on spot with the University of Michigan after not being recruited out of Romeo High School in suburban Detroit.
Blankenburg, 24, was fresh out of high school and quickly developed a case of homesickness.
“That first week for me there, I think I wanted to quit hockey and come back home just because it was so new to me,” Blankenburg said. “It was really hard. I remember calling my parents, crying on the phone, telling them I wanted to come home. I was able to get through that and had a lot of support from family back home, a lot of support from the organization as a whole, from my billet family and my teammates, so it was a really good experience there.”
Okotoks also had quite a team in 2017-18, including four eventual NHL draft picks plus Blankenburg — who signed with the Blue Jackets last season as a collegiate free agent. Blankenburg had just shifted from forward to defense about six months earlier in high school, but had an impressive season with 16 goals, 26 assists and 42 points in 57 games.
One of his teammates from that season, Dylan Holloway, now plays left wing for Edmonton’s Oilers and is a linemate with McDavid on the top forward line. Playing against Holloway while the Koseks watched from the stands meant a lot to Blankenburg, who will also see former Michigan teammates Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks) and Matty Beniers (Seattle Kraken) on this trip.
“This road trip for me is pretty cool,” Blankenburg said. “It was really nice to see (the Koseks) and I’m really thankful for all they’ve done for me. I wouldn’t be here without them and all the support they’ve given me.”
Columbus Blue Jackets lineup at Edmonton Oilers
Forwards
Johnny Gaudreau – Boone Jenner – Patrik Laine
Gustav Nyquist – Cole Sillinger – Kent Johnson
Liam Foudy – Jack Roslovic – Kirill Marchenko
Eric Robinson – Sean Kuraly – Mathieu Olivier
Defensemen
Vladislav Gavrikov – Andrew Peeke
Tim Berni – Erik Gudbranson
Nick Blankenburg – Adam Boqvist
Goalies
Joonas Korpisalo
Elvis Merzlikins
Scratched: F Emil Bemstrom, D Gavin Bayreuther
Injury/illness: F Yegor Chinakhov (ankle), D Zach Werenski (shoulder), F Justin Danforth (shoulder), D Jake Bean (shoulder), F Jakub Voracek (concussion).
Up next for the Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets will finish this road trip with a back-to-back against the Vancouver Canucks on Friday and Seattle Kraken on Saturday. The Canucks hired coach Rick Tocchet to replace Bruce Boudreau earlier this week and the Kraken are third in the Pacific Division in just their second season.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets stun Edmonton Oilers in overtime
