Tag: Columbus

Categories
NFL (American Football)

The Rangers look for consistency in New York as they face the Jackets in a quick turnaround

New York Rangers (NHL)

The New York Rangers will look to bounce back quickly after a short rest when they travel to play the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

The Rangers are aiming for redemption after a 3-2 loss on Friday to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who were missing Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

New York had 1-0 and 2-1 leads, thanks to goals from Vincent Trocheck and Adam Fox, but the Penguins scored twice in the second period and held on for the win.

Trocheck also got an assist in the loss, and Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin stopped 23 of the 26 shots he faced.

Rangers center Mika Zibanejad, who didn’t record any points in the game, said after the match, “I think it’s just in general our first two periods are not very good and we dig ourselves a bit of a hole and then we have to try to climb out of it again in the third. We were unable to do that today, so (we) can’t just rely on the first and third period to win the game.”

New York was outshot 26-17 in the first two periods, but despite not allowing any shots in the third period and getting seven shots of their own, they couldn’t find the equalizer.

The loss ended a two-game win streak for New York, and they will look to head into the 4 Nations Face-Off break with a win in Columbus.

The Blue Jackets come into this game after three straight losses (0-2-1), following a three-game win streak. Their most recent loss was 4-3 to the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday, when Dylan Guenther scored in overtime.

Columbus defenseman Ivan Provorov scored for the third game in a row, while Justin Danforth scored his first goal in 19 games.

Columbus Blue Jackets players celebrates after a goal

“There’s no excuses for us,” Danforth said after the game. “We pride ourselves on being a consistent team. I felt like we were there for most of the night but just not good enough.”

Before Thursday, the Blue Jackets had won five straight games at home. They have had one of the best home records in the NHL this season, with a 17-5-4 mark.

A big reason for this success has been the play of Zach Werenski. With an assist against Utah, Werenski extended his home point streak to 20 games (13 goals, 24 assists), making him just the fourth defenseman in NHL history to do this.

In addition to extending his point streak, Werenski also set a new club record for points in a season by a defenseman with 58 points (17 goals, 41 assists). He had 57 points (11 goals, 46 assists) last season, matching the club record set in 2017-18 by Seth Jones (16 goals, 41 assists).

The Rangers have won six of their last eight games against the Blue Jackets. In their only meeting this season, New York defeated Columbus 1-0 in a shootout on Jan. 18.

Categories
NHL (National Hockey League)

Injured Blue Jackets look to end losing streak against Utah in Columbus

Columbus Blue Jackets players celebrates after a goal

The Columbus Blue Jackets will aim to avoid a third straight loss when they begin a four-game homestand against the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday night.

Columbus lost 3-2 on Tuesday in Buffalo, wrapping up a four-game road trip (2-2-0). Ivan Provorov scored a goal and added an assist, while Kent Johnson scored the other goal. Johnson extended his point streak to eight games (four goals, five assists).

“I thought our effort was certainly there,” Columbus coach Dean Evason said. “Maybe there is an element of not playing some games and some juggling a little bit with some different players, but having said that, we’ve still got to get the job done, we’ve still got to play like we play, and we’ve got to stay with how we play the game.”

Elvis Merzlikins made 18 saves for the Blue Jackets, who were missing their top defensive pairing of Zach Werenski and Dante Fabbro due to upper-body injuries.

Werenski is questionable for Thursday, while Fabbro is expected to miss two to three weeks.

Leading scorer Kirill Marchenko missed his first game of the season after breaking his jaw in a 5-3 loss to Dallas on Sunday. The forward was placed on injured reserve and will be out indefinitely.

This injury is especially tough for Columbus as they fight for a playoff spot. Entering Thursday, they were one point out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Despite this, the Blue Jackets have been solid at home, with a 17-5-3 record. They are 4-4-1 overall since a six-game winning streak from January 4-16.

Thursday’s game will be the second and final meeting between Columbus and Utah this season. The Blue Jackets won 3-2 in overtime last Friday in Salt Lake City.

Utah Hockey Club (NHL)

Utah enters the game following a 3-2 overtime victory over Philadelphia to close a four-game homestand (1-1-2). Dylan Guenther scored twice, including the overtime winner with one second left, as Utah snapped a five-game losing streak (0-3-2). Guenther returned to the lineup after missing 12 games due to a lower-body injury.

Mikhail Sergachev scored a goal and added two assists, and Karel Vejmelka made 18 saves for Utah. Sergachev tied his career high with 10 goals on Tuesday.

Utah, six points out of a Western Conference wild-card spot entering Wednesday, is 4-4-2 in their last 10 games and 13-10-3 on the road this season.

“We still very much believe,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “We know at this point, we’ll need a little bit of help. We didn’t take the straight line, but we can make it, and we’ll fight for it.”

“And now we need to go on the road and have a (heck) of a road trip.” Clayton Keller leads Utah with 39 assists and 57 points in 52 games this season. He and Guenther are tied for the team lead with 18 goals each.

Vejmelka is 12-14-4 with a .910 save percentage and a 2.46 goals-against average in 30 starts this season. In two career appearances against the Blue Jackets, Vejmelka is 1-0-1 with a .900 save percentage and a 2.48 GAA.

Merzlikins has a 19-13-3 record with an .894 save percentage and a 2.96 goals-against average in 35 starts this season. He is 2-2-1 in six career appearances against the Arizona Coyotes franchise, with an .885 save percentage and a 3.50 GAA.

Daniil Tarasov was in goal for Columbus in the teams’ first meeting and made 32 saves.

Categories
FEATURED

Ohio State aims to avenge its loss against No. 18 Maryland in Columbus

Ohio State (NCAA)

In early December, Ohio State faced a tough start to its Big Ten season with a heavy 83-59 loss at Maryland, where they trailed by as much as 40 points.

Two months later, the Buckeyes (13-9, 5-6) are looking to show how much they’ve improved when they host No. 18 Maryland (17-5, 7-4) on Thursday night in Columbus, Ohio.

“Make no mistake. We haven’t forgotten about that. I think it’s certainly in the back of my mind,” said Ohio State coach Jake Diebler about the blowout loss.

Since then, Ohio State has made a lot of progress. The Buckeyes have pulled off big wins over then-No. 4 Kentucky, 85-65, and then-No. 11 Purdue, 73-70.

Of Ohio State’s five Big Ten losses, all but the Maryland game have been by eight points or fewer, with four of those losses coming against ranked teams.

“We’ve got some quality wins,” Diebler said. “We’ve played an extremely tough schedule, and we have a lot of quality-win opportunities in front of us.”

One of those opportunities comes on Thursday, as Maryland enters the game on a four-game winning streak, which includes road victories over Indiana and then-No. 17 Illinois.

The Terrapins’ recent success comes after two straight Big Ten losses early in the season. This is the first time Maryland has been ranked in the Top 25 since the 2022-23 season.

“They could have let a lot of negativity affect them,” said Maryland coach Kevin Willard. “Their attitude has been just phenomenal. I think that’s the biggest thing. They’ve been really resilient.”

During the Terrapins’ winning streak, Ja’Kobi Gillespie has averaged 17.8 points and 6.8 assists, while Julian Reese has contributed 15.8 points and 11.3 rebounds.

No. 18 Illinois and Ohio State (NCAAB)

Reese, a 6-foot-9 forward, teams up with Maryland’s top scorer, 6-10 Derick Queen, who averages 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Together, they give Maryland a strong inside presence that Ohio State will struggle to match.

“We’re gonna need everybody with size ready to go,” Diebler said. “(Maryland has) maybe the best frontcourt in the league.”

In addition to their inside game, the Terrapins are dangerous from outside. In their last two games, they’ve made 12 of 24 attempts from 3-point range, led by Rodney Rice, who has hit 8 of 13 (61.5 percent), and Selton Miguel, who has made 7 of 11 (63.6 percent).

Ohio State will counter with strong perimeter play from Bruce Thornton, who leads the team in scoring (17.1 points per game) and assists (4.2), and John Mobley Jr., who averages 13.0 points per game.

Both are threats from beyond the arc, with Thornton hitting 45 three-pointers at a 45.9 percent clip and Mobley connecting on 52 at 41.6 percent.

Devin Royal has also stepped up, scoring 29 points in Ohio State’s 87-79 loss at then-No. 18 Illinois on Sunday. The loss came after the Buckeyes had won three straight games.

“We’re so different than when we went there,” Diebler said of the first Maryland game. “We’ve grown so much. This is really a huge opportunity for us that we need to take advantage of. That’s gotta be the focus.”

Maryland has lost the last four games played in Columbus, including a 79-75 double-overtime loss last year, where Thornton scored 24 points.

The Terrapins lead the all-time series 12-11.

Categories
NHL (National Hockey League)

Blue Jackets battle through injuries, slumps, and Gaudreau’s loss to push for playoff spot in Columbus

Columbus Blue Jackets players celebrates after a goal

Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason is used to facing challenges this season and started laughing even before a question about potential lineup changes could be completed.

“There’s a few, yeah, too many to talk about,” Evason said Tuesday, as the Blue Jackets got ready to face Buffalo without three more key players: star defenseman Zach Werenski (undisclosed), forward Kirill Marchenko (broken jaw), and defenseman Dante Fabbro (upper body). “So yeah, there’ll be some changes. But I’m not going to go over all of them.”

Missing two of their leading scorers, Werenski (57 points) and Marchenko (55 points), would worry most teams, but for Evason and the Blue Jackets, it’s nothing new.

“Yeah, what’s the matter, right?” Evason said. “We expect our team to handle it the same as they’ve handled it with calm and professionalism and work ethic.”

Though the Blue Jackets lost 3-2, the message remained clear.

“I think we’ve done a great job so far of maturing as a team, and just still a lot to learn,” veteran defenseman Ivan Provorov said. “Just kind of learn and move on.”

The Blue Jackets have had a tough season, starting with the deaths of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew in August, followed by injuries to several key players, including captain Boone Jenner in October. Despite this, Columbus is now in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

“I’d be foolin’ if I thought we’d be at this point of the season with everything that transpired with our franchise,” general manager Don Waddell told. “I give the leadership group of our team so much credit for bringing this group together because it could’ve went one of two ways — and it’s gone the best it could.”

Columbus Blue Jackets players in the 3rd period

With a record of 26-20-7, the Blue Jackets entered Monday in the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot, just one win away from matching last season’s total.

They’ve fought back from a rough 1-6-2 stretch to go 14-5-2, despite missing key players like Jenner, who has returned to practice, as well as forward Sean Monahan (wrist) and defenseman Erik Gudbranson (shoulder), both out until March.

On a team ranked eighth in the NHL with 173 goals and 27th with 175 goals allowed, the Blue Jackets’ success has relied on a hardworking mentality, with a mix of youth and veteran players.

“We know that there were low expectations for us,” said defenseman Jack Johnson, a 19-year NHL veteran now back for his second stint with Columbus. “So for better or worse, we’re playing with no pressure. We’re going out, we’re working hard. Everyone does their job and having some fun doing it.”

A big motivator for the team has been the memory of Gaudreau, who, along with his brother, was killed in a tragic accident in New Jersey when they were struck by a suspected drunken driver.

“I think it brought us closer together,” forward Adam Fantilli said.

Fantilli, the No. 3 pick in the 2023 draft, has been performing well, scoring eight goals and 15 points in his last 14 games. His improved play came as Monahan, who had been playing well, was sidelined by injury. Kent Johnson, the No. 5 pick in the 2021 draft, also scored his career-high matching 16th goal against Buffalo.

“We fought through games that people didn’t think we’d win,” defenseman Jordan Harris said. “We fought through injuries, obviously, Johnny and Matthew. It’s shown up time and time again that we’re able to push through that.”

Columbus Blue Jackets players celebrate after a goal

While the Blue Jackets have a modest record of 10-4-7 in one-goal games, they’ve been strong recently, going 6-2 in their last eight. They’ve also shown resilience, going 23-3-6 when tied or leading after two periods.

“You’ve got to give them a lot of credit for getting themselves in the right place with what happened,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said of the Blue Jackets.

Evason stays focused on the present.

“We’re playing every game to try to win a hockey game, simple as that,” he said. “Every team’s dealt with adversity. Every team’s dealt with situations where they’ve got to overcome things.”

Despite the challenges, few teams have faced what Columbus has. Evason is reminded of this every time he wears the No. 13 patch on his jacket in honor of Gaudreau.

“They’ve pulled together. They’ve stuck together. They’ve been a team. They’ve supported each other through a very difficult situation,” Evason said. “I’m very proud of the way the guys have handled every situation.”

After the loss to Buffalo, Evason expressed confidence the Blue Jackets would bounce back, saying, “Our group’s not had a problem with that all year.”

Categories
NHL (National Hockey League)

Stars rally from three deficits to secure fifth straight win in Dallas

Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL)

Evgenii Dadonov scored two goals in the third period to help the Dallas Stars win their fifth straight game, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3 on Sunday night.

Mason Marchment, Logan Stankoven, and Wyatt Johnston also scored for the Stars, who didn’t take the lead until Dadonov redirected a shot from defenseman Thomas Harley (who had two assists) past Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins with 8:38 left in the game.

The goal was reviewed for a possible high stick but was confirmed. Dadonov sealed the win with another goal at 4:13 left, helping Dallas improve to 15-4-1 since December 23 and earn their 20th home win, tied for the most in the league.

Cole Sillinger, Adam Fantilli, and Ivan Provorov scored for Columbus, who had won three in a row but couldn’t hold onto three separate one-goal leads in this game. Columbus also lost their leading goal scorer, Kirill Marchenko, after he took a puck to the face while sitting on the bench late in the second period and didn’t return.

Dallas started the game strong with the first six shots on goal, but it was Columbus that got on the board first. Sillinger scored on the Blue Jackets’ first shot at 6:43, following a missed two-on-one short-handed chance moments earlier.

The Stars tied the game with 6:24 left in the first when Marchment, back from missing 17 games due to a facial injury, redirected a shot from Lian Bichsel into the net.

Columbus Blue Jackets and Vegas Golden Knights

Columbus regained the lead early in the second when Fantilli scored at 4:58 with a clean shot past Dallas goalie Casey DeSmith (27 saves).

Dallas responded just over a minute later. After a turnover by Kent Johnson in his own zone, Mikael Granlund passed the puck to Stankoven, who scored to tie the game.

The Blue Jackets took the lead again at 7:58 when Provorov fired a shot past a screened DeSmith.

But once more, the Stars answered. With 4:11 left in the second, Harley set up Johnston perfectly for a power-play goal past Merzlikins (34 saves), tying the game again.

Columbus lost defenseman Dante Fabbro to an upper-body injury after the first period. Zach Werenski, another Blue Jackets defenseman, also left the game late in the second but returned to finish the game.

Categories
NHL (National Hockey League)

Blue Jackets come from two goals down to defeat Utah in overtime in Columbus

Columbus Blue Jackets and Utah Hockey Club

Zach Werenski scored 1:01 into overtime to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a 3-2 win against the Utah Hockey Club on Friday night in Salt Lake City.

Werenski finished a two-on-none breakaway with Cole Sillinger after stealing the puck in Utah’s zone.

Utah gave up a 2-0 lead in the third period.

Kirill Marchenko and Kent Johnson also scored for Columbus. Werenski added an assist, and Daniil Tarasov made 31 saves. The Blue Jackets have now won three straight games, all in overtime.

Nick Schmaltz and Alexander Kerfoot scored for Utah, Clayton Keller recorded two assists, and Karel Vejmelka made 20 saves. Utah has now lost four games in a row (0-2-2), despite being tied or leading during the third period of each.

Columbus cut the deficit to 2-1 at 6:25 in the third after Vejmelka stopped shots from Werenski and Adam Fantilli, but Marchenko scored on the rebound.

The Blue Jackets tied the game at 2-2 at 11:42 when Johnson’s wrist shot hit Vejmelka and the rebound fell to his side. Utah defenseman Nick DeSimone accidentally kicked the puck into his own net.

Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL)

Columbus killed two penalties in the first period and prevented another Utah power play after winning a challenge for delay of game.

Utah killed a four-minute high-sticking penalty on Ian Cole, with Vejmelka making six saves during the kill.

Utah’s second power play of the first period carried into the second period, and Schmaltz scored 41 seconds into the middle frame to give Utah a 1-0 lead. Keller lost the puck at the Columbus blue line, but Barrett Hayton collected it and passed it to Schmaltz, who redirected the puck into the top right corner.

Utah extended its lead to 2-0 just 29 seconds into the third period. Kerfoot won a faceoff in the Columbus zone, and John Marino’s slap shot was saved by Tarasov. The rebound came to the front of the crease, and Kerfoot quickly scored.