PREVIEW: Blue Jackets host Sharks for Saturday night hockey

A familiar problem jumped up to bite the Blue Jackets on Thursday night, but in an unfamiliar way.

Columbus had a 2-0 lead over Ottawa in the third period, scoring 15 seconds in when captain Boone Jenner tallied and adding an insurance marker in the final frame from Alex Nylander.

It looked like a win was on the way for those in Nationwide Arena, but Ottawa rallied with a pair of goals, then downed the Blue Jackets in a shootout despite some tremendous overtime stops by Elvis Merzlikins.

It was just the latest third-period lead to disappear this season for the Jackets, prompting some familiar frustration.

“We have to find a way to close those games out,” Jenner said. “We get a big goal there in the third and let them back into it. As of late, we’ve been good in those situations, but tonight we let them back into it. That’s what happens. They were able to squeak it out at the end.”

But while it is true the Jackets’ 14-1-7 record when leading after two periods is the second worst winning percentage in the league in such situations, this was a much different flavor of loss. In the first half of the season, the Blue Jackets were unsure how to handle their leads, sitting back and inviting pressure before the dam eventually broke.

There’s been a massive improvement of late as far as how the team has handled leads, as the Blue Jackets have continued to attack and looked for more goals. The irony of Thursday night’s loss is the Blue Jackets played their best period in the third, posting a 42-15 shot attempt advantage in the frame, but Ottawa took advantage of a couple of mistakes to earn the win.

“We played our best period in the third,” head coach Pascal Vincent said. “The initial (scoring) chances we have is 13-4 for us in the third. We had chances to put that game away, but I thought we played a good period. ... Two missed assignments and the puck is in the back of your net. Other than that, I liked the process. I like the way they played. I thought we should have won that game.”

Another chance to build on that comes tonight as the Sharks come to town for the annual visit to Nationwide Arena.

Know The Foe: San Jose Sharks

Head coach: David Quinn (Second season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.20 (31st) | Scoring defense: 3.91 (32nd) | PP: 21.0 percent (17th) | PK: 73.8 percent (30th)

The narrative: It wasn’t expected to be a great season in Northern California, but the start was brutal, with San Jose opening the campaign with an 0-10-1 start in which the team was outscored 55-12. Things haven't gotten much better as the season has gone on, and the Sharks are in the running for the No. 1 pick a year after taking Will Smith at No. 4 overall. San Jose has had just two top-10 picks in the last eight drafts – Smith and William Eklund, who went seventh in 2021 – so the cavalry might be a long way off.

Team leaders: Longtime Minnesota and Nashville forward Mikael Granlund has landed in San Jose and is the team’s leading scorer with a 9-33-42 line. Fabian Zetterlund is next on the current squad with a team-best 17 goals among his 31 points, while Eklund is settling in at the NHL level and has 10 goals to go with 20 assists.

With Blackwood out, the team’s current goalie tandem is Magnus Chrona and Devin Cooley, acquired at the deadline from Buffalo. He’s yet to play with the team, while Chrona has started five of the last six games. He’s skated in a total of seven contests this year, going 1-4-1 with a 4.43 GAA and .872 save percentage.

What's new: San Jose is 1-9-2 in its last 12 games and has given up at least six goals in five of those contests, while the team dealt two of its top scorers at the trade deadline in Tomas Hertl and former CBJ wing Anthony Duclair. The Sharks are just playing out the string and have been racked by injuries, including those to captain Logan Couture – who has played just six games – as well as veterans Jan Rutta, Mike Hoffman, Matt Benning, Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek.

Trending: Columbus took the first game of the series in San Jose on Feb. 17 on Boone Jenner’s late winner, and the Blue Jackets have won three in a row vs. the Sharks.

Former CBJ: Duclair was second on the team in goals (16) and fifth in points (27) before his trade.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)

Johnny Gaudreau – Boone Jenner – Alex Nylander
Alexandre Texier – Cole Sillinger – Kirill Marchenko
Trey Fix-Wolansky – Dmitri Voronkov – Mikael Pyyhtia
Mathieu Olivier – Brendan Gaunce – Carson Meyer
Ivan Provorov – Zach Werenski
Jake Christiansen – Damon Severson
Jake Bean – Erik Gudbranson
Daniil Tarasov
Elvis Merzlikins

Scratches: Adam Fantilli (calf laceration, out eight weeks as of Jan. 31), Justin Danforth (concussion), Sean Kuraly (lower-body injury, week to week), Yegor Chinakhov (upper body injury, day to day), Adam Boqvist (upper body)

Injured reserve: Kent Johnson (torn labrum in left shoulder, out for season)

Roster Report: Christiansen goes into the lineup after being recalled for the injured Boqvist, while Tarasov looks to get the start in net.

3 Stats to Know

• Alex Nylander’s six goals in 10 games since joining the Blue Jackets are tied for the most ever for a player in their first 10 contests with the team. Patrik Laine reached the mark in 2021 and Antoine Vermette was the first to do it in 2009.
• With his goal Thursday night, Boone Jenner notched his fourth career 20-goal season, making him just the fourth CBJ player to have four such campaigns in team history. He joins Rick Nash (eight), Cam Atkinson (six) and R.J. Umberger (four).
• Milestone watch: With 201 career assists, Zach Werenski is three helpers from tying David Vyborny for second in team history. ... Damon Severson is two games from 700 for his NHL career (64-218-282, 698 GP). ... Ivan Provorov is two games from 600 for his NHL career (70-175-245, 598 GP).

Who’s Hot

Daniil Tarasov has posted a .941 save percentage in his last seven appearances, stopping 222 of 236 shots against and allowing just 14 goals (2.09 GAA). ... Alexandre Texier saw a career-best five-game point streak (2-4-6) end Tuesday but still has six points (2-4-6) in the last seven games and is plus-3 in that span of games. ... Dmitri Voronkov has 17 goals on the year, tied for second among NHL rookies. His 31 points are also tied for fifth among NHL rookies. ... Johnny Gaudreau has 18 points (3-15-18) in the last 19 games. ... The team’s rookie stat line of 30-37-67 is first in the NHL in goals and third in points.

This Day in CBJ History

March 16, 2001: Tyler Wright notches the first natural hat trick in team history, scoring all three goals – two past Norm Maracle, the third an empty-netter – as the Blue Jackets post a 3-0 win at Atlanta. Ron Tugnutt earns his second shutout in three days and fourth of the season in the victory.

March 16, 2013: Sergei Bobrovsky stops 39 shots in regulation and overtime and two more in a shootout as the Blue Jackets claimed a 1-0 win over Phoenix in Nationwide Arena. It is one of just three 1-0 shootout wins in franchise history and one of five games to go through regulation and OT without a goal. Artem Anisimov and Mark Letestu tally in the skills competition for the Blue Jackets.