Blackhawks Come Up Short On Opener Of Homestand As They Lose To Blue Jackets
CHICAGO (AP) — Red-hot Patrik Laine scored three goals to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets past the Chicago Blackhawks 7-4 on Thursday night.
Boone Jenner, Yegor Chinakhov and Max Domi each had a goal and assist for Columbus, which has won three of four to move above .500 at 24-23-1. Oliver Bjorkstrand also scored in the finale of a five-game road trip.
Laine's first hat trick with Columbus extended his points streak to eight games, matching the second-longest of his career. The fleet Finnish forward has 10 goals and six assists in the span, and 16 goals on the season.
Elvis Merzlikins made 28 saves for the Blue Jackets, who are 6-2-0 in their last eight.
Philipp Kurashev and Ryan Carpenter each had goal and an assist for the Blackhawks, who had won six straight against Columbus. Alex DeBrincat notched his team-leading 29th goal and MacKenzie Entwistle also scored.
Chicago's Arvid Soderblom made 30 saves his second NHL start and third appearance.
The Blackhawks came up short in the opener of a six-game homestand that's critical to any hope of them climbing into playoff contention.
Jenner and Chinakhov scored 13 seconds apart in the first to give Columbus a quick 2-0 lead.
Jenner batted in the rebound from midair for his 20th goal to open the scoring during a power-play 6:58 in. Chinakhov beat Soderblom on the stick side at 7:11 for a two-goal lead.
Kurashev's power-play deflection at 10:24, then Carpenter's breakaway conversion just over four minutes later pulled Chicago into a 2-all tie.
Domi ripped in a shot from the right circle with 3:05 left in the first to restore the Blue Jackets' lead at 3-2.
Laine scored a fluky goal from the short side just 9 seconds into the second to make it 4-2 when he whipped a shot from the sharp angle of the right boards. The puck slipped under Soderblom and narrowly crossed the goal line, per a video review.
It was the Blue Jackets' fastest goal ever at the start of a period.
Entwistle tapped in Calvin de Haan's deflected shot with 1:58 left in the second to cut it to 4-3.
Laine ripped in a shot from Jenner's faceoff win to make it 5-3 at 7:58 of the third. DeBrincat replied with his 29th goal a minute late to close it to 5-4.
Laine completed his hat trick with an empty-netter with 5 seconds left.
HELLO AGAIN
Chicago top defenseman Seth Jones skated against the Blue Jackets, his team for the six previous seasons, for the first time since the Blackhawks acquired him in a trade last July. Jones was in COVID-19 protocol when the two teams met in Columbus on Jan. 11.
Jones narrowly missed scoring late in the second when he cut to the net and tipped Patrick Kane's feed off the post.
NOTES: Jenner reached 20 goals for the second time in his career and the first since 2015-16 when the Columbus captain had 30. ... Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews has resumed skating missed, but missed his seventh game while in the concussion protocol. ... Columbus G Joonas Korpisalo is day to day with a lower-body injury. J-F Berube was recalled from Cleveland of the AHL to take his spot as backup to Merzlikins. ... The United Center, which seats 19,717 for hockey, was only about half-full on a snowy night.
UP NEXT
Blue Jackets: Host Buffalo on Sunday.
Blackhawks: Host Dallas on Friday.
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