COVID wipes out Jones’ homecoming vs. Blue Jackets
Blue jackets defenseman Zach Werenski speculated Monday that Seth Jones probably had Tuesday's game — his return to Columbus after being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in the offseason — circled on his calendar.
But after entering COVID-19 protocol Tuesday morning, Jones was unavailable for Chicago's 4-2 win at Nationwide Arena and will have to wait to face his former team.
Blackhawks interim coach Derek King said after the game that he didn't find out Jones would be unavailable until the afternoon.
"I think I had my ringer off on my phone, so I was just getting up and I just saw that after they did the extra test it wasn't good," King said. "But my American league coaching kicked in. I knew how to adjust right away. We just got guys in that needed to play. Obviously we're limited to what we have and they did a great job for us." Jackets 'didn't have the jam' Tuesday's game lacked flow from the beginning, with seven stoppages in the first five minutes. Neither team had much success generating offense; Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo didn't have to make a save until eight minutes had already elapsed.
At the 12:51 mark of the first period, Gustav Nyquist worked his way from behind the Blackhawks' net and slipped a pass through the crease in front of Marc-andré Fleury that landed right in front of Boone Jenner. All Jenner had to do was sweep the puck into the net, and the Jackets led 1-0.
Just 24 seconds later, however, Alex Debrincat tied the game.
"We've talked about it plenty of times, about the follow-up shift after a goal and not giving up one," said Jackets coach Brad Larsen. "You never want to go out with the mindset of not giving up one. You just want to stay with it and attack the game. It happened again."
In the second period, though the
Blue Jackets at Hurricanes
Jackets outshot Chicago 8-3 and led 20-6 in shot attempts, the Blackhawks took a 2-1 lead when defenseman Calvin de Haan scored his first goal since Jan. 22.
At 6:36 of the third, defenseman Connor Murphy finished a cross-slot pass from Jonathan Toews for a 3-1 lead.
Nyquist scored with 1:21 left in the third period, but Debrincat's empty-net goal made it 4-2.
"It's disappointing we didn't have the jam," Larsen said. "I'm not sure why we didn't have the energy in our game tonight . ... Quite honestly, it wasn't a great hockey game. You're one shot away there. You get within one and you're hoping you can find something, but just couldn't get it done. "
Ohio native Murphy scores gamewinner
Murphy, who grew up in Dublin and played for the AAA Blue Jackets, scored the game-winning goal — his first at Nationwide Arena.
He had family on hand for the game. "Anytime you have your family come to a game, it's special," Murphy said. "My family's always busy with my dad coaching in New York, so anytime the rest of my family is able to watch me play, it's always special. It doesn't happen as much as you'd always like it to.” No shots for Laine
For the first time all season, the Jackets' Patrik Laine did not attempt a shot. He had zero shots on goal in the opener on Oct. 14 but did have one shot blocked and two that missed the net. On Tuesday, he had zero attempts.
BLACKHAWKS 4,BLUE JACKETS 2
Chicago 1 1 2 - 4
Columbus 1 0 1 - 2
First Period: 1, Columbus, Jenner 14 (Werenski, Nyquist), 12:51. 2, Chicago, Debrincat 22 (Stillman), 13:15. Penalties: Sillinger, CBJ (Slashing), 15:32; Laine, CBJ (High Sticking), 19:05.
Second Period: 3, Chicago, de Haan 1 (Kurashev, Entwistle), 15:10. Penalties: Debrincat, CHI (Hooking), 5:03; Dach, CHI (Hooking), 9:29.
Third Period: 4, Chicago, Murphy 3 (Kane, Toews), 6:36. 5, Columbus, Nyquist 8, 18:39 (sh). 6, Chicago, Debrincat 23 (Stillman), 19:46 (en). Penalties: Domi, CBJ (Tripping), 10:56; Bemstrom, CBJ (Cross Checking), 17:02.
Shots on Goal: Chicago 8-3-9: 20. Columbus 8-8-10: 26. Power-plays: Chicago 0 of 4; Columbus 0 of 2. Goalies: Chicago, Fleury 11-11-2 (26 shots-24 saves). Columbus, Korpisalo 4-7-0 (20-16). A: 15,444 (18,500). T: 2:18.