Blue Jackets Grind Out Important Point in OT Loss to Utah HC – The Hockey Writers Columbus Blue Jackets Latest News, Analysis & More

The Columbus Blue Jackets met the Utah Hockey Club for the second time in six days on Thursday night. This time, Utah HC was able to flip the script on the Blue Jackets.

Dylan Guenther scored the game-winning goal in overtime for the second consecutive game to lift Utah HC to a 3-2 win in front of 18,553 fans at a sold out Nationwide Arena. Each team won 3-2 in overtime on the other team’s home ice.

The story of this game ultimately became the Blue Jackets finding a way to grind out a point.

Game Recap

The Blue Jackets were able to score early thanks to a good bounce. Jordan Harris on the wall met Lawson Crouse at the same time the puck got there. It went in front where Justin Danforth finished it for a 1-0 lead.

That was about the only good Blue Jackets thing for the next 30 minutes of game time. Utah HC dominated the rest of the first in faceoffs and in possession. The only thing they didn’t do was score.

Utah made sure to take care of the scoring part in the second. Just 2:06 into the middle frame, Crouse made it 1-1. He returned to the lineup on Thursday after being a healthy scratch. He finished off a great pass from Josh Doan.

Then Utah took the lead about 10 minutes later. Olli Maatta threw the puck towards the net. The puck hit Zach Werenski and beat Elvis Merzlikins. The Blue Jackets were in need of some energy. They got it in the form of an unlikely fight.

Mikael Pyyhtia was hit by multiple Utah HC players. Damon Severson stood up for his teammate by dropping the gloves with Michael Kesselring. Somehow it was Severson that got hit with a roughing call. But it was the Blue Jackets who scored from that situation.

Ivan Provorov made it 2-2 on a feed from Zach Werenski. Provorov’s shot from distance got by Connor Ingram giving him goals in three straight games. It was also the first shorthanded goal in his NHL career. Werenski’s assist gave him points in 20-straight home games.

The Blue Jackets carried the energy from the Severson fight into the third and had the better of the play. No one scored although Utah got a power play to end regulation. Without several of their top players, the Blue Jackets grinded out a massive point. They weren’t however able to get the second point.

After killing the penalty, the Blue Jackets were close to an odd-man rush only to have Ingram clear the puck up the ice. Guenther was stopped on his first shot but converted the rebound for the win.

Ingram made 20 saves for the win. Merzlikins stopped 30 in the tough-luck loss.

The Blue Jackets got to 60 points with one game left before the 4-Nations Faceoff. They host the New York Rangers on Saturday night. Utah now heads to Carolina and Washington on the weekend before their break begins.