SAN JOSE, Calif. — With a little bit of luck, Columbus Blue Jackets winger Johnny Gaudreau could have had a memorable game on Saturday against the San Jose Sharks. He could have easily scored three or four goals, maybe more.
Instead, Gaudreau turned to his playmaking skills, and those rarely let him down.
Gaudreau had two primary assists, including a breathtaking feed to spring Boone Jenner between two Sharks for the game-winning goal with 12.9 seconds remaining in regulation, leading the Blue Jackets to a 4-3 win before 17,435 at SAP Center.
Jenner deserves high marks for the goal. He skated hard to get in front of Sharks winger Alexander Barabanov and defenseman Jan Rutta before splitting the pads of goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen with a sneaky backhand for his club-leading 17th goal of the season.
Then, for good measure, Jenner wiped out and crashed into the end boards as the celebration got started.
But that pass by Gaudreau started at his own blue line, made it to the backhand of Jenner’s stick through the space of a mousehole, and was perfectly in stride for Jenner to stay out in front.
“I could see that (Gaudreau) was just waiting for that D-man to get a little bit away from me,” Jenner said. “It’s just a great pass. I was lucky enough to get it on my backhand and then get a shot off.
“It wasn’t the prettiest shot, but we found a way. That’s a great play by him.”
BOOOOOONE 🗣️
Boone Jenner scores in the final seconds of regulation to give the @BlueJacketsNHL the W! pic.twitter.com/9y1f5jSDny
— NHL (@NHL) February 18, 2024
Zach Werenski, Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko each scored for the Blue Jackets, who won a regulation road game for just the fifth time this season. For Werenski, it snapped a 38-game streak without a goal, the longest of his career.
Gaudreau, Erik Gudbranson and Yegor Chinakhov each had two assists for the Jackets. Gaudreau was able to chuckle about his night, but only because of the way the game ended.
In the first period, he had three breakaways. Three. The first was disrupted by Kahkonen’s stick when Gaudreau pulled up and lost the puck. The second went off the post to Kahkonen’s left. The third was fired just high, clanging off the glass above the end boards.
Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent after the game: “I’ve never seen that, three breakaways and not even one shot on goal.”
Then, for good measure, Gaudreau had an apparent second-period goal taken off the board after a San Jose replay request revealed that Werenski was offside on the play a few seconds before Gaudreau scored.
“It was rough,” Gaudreau said, smiling. “Three breakaways. And then I scored one and they took it back. It just wasn’t my night.
“Maybe I’ll stick to passing for the next few days.”
Gaudreau got off to a dreadful start this season, but he’s been one of the Blue Jackets’ top players most nights for a while now. After Saturday’s two assists, he’s now working on a six-game point streak (0-8-8) dating back to before the NHL All-Star break.
“He was dominant tonight,” Vincent said. “He was really good. It’s unfortunate that he didn’t get rewarded (with goals), but knowing Johnny, he’s probably happiest that we won.”
The Sharks took a 1-0 lead when Anthony Duclair scored just 3:39 into the game, the first of two goals by Duclair, a former Blue Jackets player.
ZACH ATTACK IS BACK 🚨@fanaticsbook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/RWWZXPly1h
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) February 18, 2024
The Blue Jackets pulled even late in the first period when Werenski’s goal drought finally ended. He sailed in a wrister from above the right circle, the type of shot that usually leads to double-digit goals in a season. Instead, he has two this season.
“Obviously, it had been a while,” Werenski said. “I’ve been playing well for a while now, I just haven’t been able to score, so it felt so good to see that go in.
“It’s kinda been a hot topic in the room, so I’m happy that’s over with. (Veteran center Sean) Kuraly said before the game that I was going to score, so he might be the happiest.”
Marchenko scored his 16th goal of the season barely a minute later to give the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead. Voronkov then pounced on a rebound off a Chinakhov shot at 7:14 of the second to make it 3-1.
After San Jose scored twice to tie it later in the second, the two teams headed into the third tied at 3. As you may have heard, the third period has not been kind to the Blue Jackets.
This time, the Jackets persevered, including a clutch penalty kill with 7:40 remaining to keep the score tied. Jenner’s goal got the road trip started on the right note during uncertain times for the franchise after the firing late last week of longtime GM Jarmo Kekalainen.
“We’ve always found ways to lose games this year, it seems like,” Werenski said. “To find a way to win with 12 seconds left, that hasn’t happened yet this year. It definitely feels good to be on the right side of things.
“I would have liked to score a couple more goals in the third and win that way, but we’ll take it.”
(Photo of Boone Jenner celebrating his goal in the third period against San Jose: Kavin Mistry / NHLI via Getty Images)
