Elvis Merzlikins made 32 saves and three more in the shootout as the Columbus Blue Jackets came from behind to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 on Saturday.
After a win in overtime against Tampa Bay on Thursday, the Blue Jackets gave their home crowd another exciting game. However, they needed a shootout to win for the first time this season, securing their third straight victory. The lead never stretched beyond one goal for either team throughout the game.
Kirill Marchenko scored twice for Columbus, including the game-tying goal with just 66 seconds left in regulation after the Blue Jackets pulled Merzlikins for an extra attacker.
Pyotr Kochetkov made 27 saves for Carolina, but had to leave the game with 2:08 left in overtime after teammate Sean Walker collided with him while blocking Zach Werenski. The hit left Kochetkov with a head injury.
Spencer Martin replaced Kochetkov. He stopped one shot in the overtime period, but was beaten by Sean Monahan in the shootout. Monahan’s goal was the only one in the shootout, securing the win for Columbus.
Carolina, which lost its second straight game, came back from a 3-2 deficit to take a 4-3 lead in the second period when Jackson Blake scored his sixth goal of the season at 6:37. Blake’s goal came after Sebastian Aho had tied the game at 3-3 on the power play at 10:39.
Columbus scored its first two goals by capitalizing on turnovers in Carolina’s attacking zone, leading to breakaway goals. Dante Fabbro skated nearly the entire length of the ice to score on Kochetkov’s stick side just 2:04 into the game, giving the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead. Marchenko added another goal after forcing a turnover at the blue line with 9:40 left in the first period.
Carolina’s first goal came from Jack Roslovic at 6:41 of the first period, tying the game at 1-1. Aho had an assist on the goal, and Martin Necas provided two assists for the Hurricanes.
Dmitri Voronkov scored on the power play with 12:50 left in the second period to give the Blue Jackets a 3-2 lead. However, that advantage was short-lived as Aho’s power-play goal tied the game again less than four minutes later.
