Rookie Werenski Scores In OT As Blue Jackets Beat Ducks, 3-2
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Zach Werenski scored 1:21 into overtime after Columbus blew a two-goal lead, helping the Blue Jackets escape with a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night.
Brandon Saad had a goal and an assist and Boone Jenner got his first score this season for Columbus, which won its fourth straight at home and stretched its point streak to five (4-0-1). Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves.
Anaheim's Nick Ritchie tied it at 2 early in the third period after Rickard Rakell scored late in the second. John Gibson made 15 stops.
After being pinned in its zone to start overtime, Columbus pushed the play forward. Alexander Wennberg — who got his 12th assist — spun with the puck at the left faceoff dot, hitting Werenski with a pass in stride in the slot. The rookie defenseman snapped a shot by Gibson for his third goal.
Jenner and Saad scored in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the game, but the Ducks regained their footing and carried the play from the midpoint of the first period into the third.
Rakell got his goal with 2:39 left in the second on a shot that redirected off Werenski. Cam Fowler shot a puck that banked off Rakell before deflecting off Werenski's blade and in.
Bobrovsky gifted Anaheim its other goal 1:25 into the third. He left his net and misplayed a puck, allowing Joseph Cramarossa to get possession and pass to Ritchie in front for an easy tying score.
Columbus gave itself a first-period cushion for the second time in two games against the Ducks this season. The Blue Jackets scored all of their goals in the opening frame in a 4-0 win at Anaheim two weeks ago.
Jenner was left alone in front and easily put a rebound past Gibson 1:23 in. The goal was his first after scoring a career-best 30 last season.
Columbus exposed more open ice four minutes later to make it 2-0. Ryan Murray moved into the zone and sent the puck inside the right circle to Saad, who buried the one-timer for his fourth.
NOTES: D Hampus Lindholm made his season debut for the Ducks. The 22-year-old Swede ended a contract dispute on Oct. 27 then dealt with visa issues before finally arriving Tuesday in Columbus. ... The Blue Jackets played their first game without top pair defenseman Seth Jones, sidelined three weeks with a broken foot suffered Saturday. ... LW Sonny Milano, selected in the first round of the 2014 draft, made his NHL debut. ... Blue Jackets C Brandon Dubinsky, still yet to score a goal this season, sat out with a lower-body injury. ... The Blue Jackets swept the two-game season series. ...
UP NEXT
Ducks: Play at Carolina on Thursday night, then wrap a three-game trip Saturday in Nashville.
Blue Jackets: Visit Boston on Thursday night.
