‘They’re not always Picassos’: Bean’s OT goal saves Jackets
SEATTLE — Blue Jackets defenseman Jake Bean hadn't scored since Nov. 3, when his overtime goal beat the Colorado Avalanche.
On Saturday, Bean joined Detroit Red Wings rookie Moritz Seider as the NHL'S only defensemen to score two overtime winners this year as the Blue Jackets topped the Seattle Kraken 5-4.
After giving up a 4-1 third-period lead, the Blue Jackets headed to overtime for the second time in two games. And for the second time this season, Jakub Voracek got the puck to Bean, and Bean did the rest. His wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle flipped over goaltender Philipp Grubauer's shoulder to send the Jackets on to Vancouver with a bit of momentum.
“(It) would've been a huge deflator, obviously, (when) you're up 4-1 going into the third to not get both points,” said Jackets coach Brad Larsen. “It's not a divisional game so you don't really care that they got a point. You just want to get the two. That would've been tough to swallow.”
Bean's goal came 55 seconds into overtime.
“(Voracek) gave it to me and (Seattle) kinda messed up on their defensive side of things,” Bean said. “They kind of ran into each other, so I had a ton of space. I just got it to the net. They had a guy in front of their goalie, so I just had to get it past him.”
Bean was widely expected to be selected by the Kraken in the expansion draft in July from the Carolina Hurricanes, and he admitted Saturday that it was a “tough day” when Seattle didn't pick him. If he had any extra motivation to succeed against the team that passed him over, he wasn't willing to tell.
“Haven't really thought about it,” Bean said. “I was happy for (Hurricanes teammate Morgan Geekie, who was selected). It was a weird time. I'm just happy to get the win tonight for us. ... Once I got to Columbus, it's been all Columbus, and I haven't really thought about it since.”
‘Not always Picassos’
The Jackets don't do things the easy way. After allowing three goals in the third period Saturday, Columbus (1411-1) has taken seven games to overtime this year, and three of those have come after allowing late goals to tie things up.
“We'd get some good shifts there, and then we had some puck management issues,” Larsen said. “But that's fairly typical when they're trying so hard to get that win . ... They're not always Picassos, as we say. Sometimes, you've gotta win ugly.”
Road losing streak snapped
The last time the Jackets won on the road was Nov. 22 in Buffalo. Since then, they've gone 0-5 and been outscored 23-10. Losing streaks like that can loom large in the minds of the players.
That made it all the more important, with another four games still to go on this road trip, that Columbus started things off with a win.
“It helps a lot,” Bean said. “Our last road trip wasn't great for us, and to get this one started off on the right foot is nice. Hopefully we can kinda continue that along the way.”
A drama-free win in regulation would've been preferred, said forward
Max Domi, but after losing five straight road games, any win will do the trick.
“We knew they were going to come (back),” said Domi, who scored two goals Saturday. “... They worked. They used the crowd to their advantage. Found a way to get to overtime. Would've liked to finish it in regulation, but the two points is two points. We'll take the win any way we can.”
Bjorkstrand hits 200 points
With his goal in the first period and an assist on Domi's second goal, Oliver Bjorkstrand had his seventh multipoint game of the season and reached 200 career points. In 328 career games, he's scored 92 goals and tallied 108 assists. Bjorkstrand has a team-high 23 points in 26 games this season.
BLUE JACKETS 5, KRAKEN 4, OT
Columbus 0 4 0 1 — 5
Seattle 0 1 3 0 — 4
Second Period: 1, Columbus, Bjorkstrand 9 (Jenner), 8:13. 2, Columbus, Roslovic 5 (Domi, Voracek), 11:40. 3, Seattle, Mccann 11 (Eberle), 13:46. 4, Columbus, Domi 5 (Bean, Roslovic), 16:43. 5, Columbus, Domi 6 (Bjorkstrand, Jenner), 19:34. Penalties: True, SEA (Slashing), 1:52; Wennberg, SEA (High Sticking), 4:43.
Third Period: 6, Seattle, Schwartz 6 (Donskoi, Giordano), 3:42 (pp). 7, Seattle, Geekie 3 (Tanev, Appleton), 4:04. 8, Seattle, Dunn 3 (Larsson, Jarnkrok), 15:54. Penalties: Carlsson, CBJ (Holding), 2:28.
Overtime: 9, Columbus, Bean 4 (Kuraly, Voracek), 0:55.
Shots on Goal: Columbus 8-13-7-1: 29. Seattle 12-10-9-1: 32. Power-plays: Columbus 0 of 2; Seattle 1 of 1. Goalies: Columbus, Merzlikins 11-5-1 (32 shots-28 saves). Seattle, Grubauer 7-11-3 (29-24). A: 17,151 (17,100). T: 2:29.