The Columbus Blue Jackets youngsters downed Ottawa by a 4-1 score at the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo on Monday afternoon. The Blue Jackets finished the event with two wins and a loss over a four-day span.
Game in a Paragraph
Columbus was the better squad throughout, controlling the opening period to take a 1-0 lead and then breaking a 1-all tie in the third with a trio of goals. It was a strong finish at the event for the Blue Jackets, who outshot Ottawa by a 27-16 margin on the afternoon.
CBJ Standouts
- Undrafted free agent Pano Fimis, who had 25 goals and 76 points in 68 games a year ago with Erie of the OHL, scored twice in the third period to help the CBJ put the game away.
- Gavin Brindley, a 2023 second-round pick, had a goal and an assist in the final frame as well. He finished with a three-point game.
- Goalie Jacob Oster, also an undrafted free agent invite, was good when he had to be and finished with 15 saves.
How It Happened
The Blue Jackets controlled the opening frame, outshooting Ottawa by a 9-2 count and keeping the Senators on the back foot. Columbus also got the lone goal of the period to take a 1-0 lead as Mael Lavigne scored his first of the tournament at 11:26. Brindley used his speed and agility to avoid a pair of defenders and sent the puck across the zone to Denton Mateychuk for a shot, and Lavigne was in front to put the rebound past goalie David Egorov.
The Sens turned in a much better effort in the second period, leaving the teams tied at 1 after two frames. Just 3:20 into the period, 2024 first-round pick Carter Yakemchuk tied the score, as Jackson Stewart found a loose puck at the netfront and sent it to the defenseman at the back door to stuff past Oster.
Columbus wasted little time in the third period taking the lead, as Fimis made a slick move on a shorthanded breakaway just 35 seconds into the period to tally past Egorov and make it 2-1. Just 3:11 later, Brindley made it 3-1 when he took a pass from Luca Pinelli low on the left and beat Egorov five hole. The Blue Jackets then put the cherry on top with an excellent tic-tac-toe goal with 11:58 to go, as Brindley fed Luca Del Bel Belluz on the left entering the zone and the CBJ center found Fimis charging the net for a tap in at the back post.
Notable
Despite the low save total, Oster made a big pad stop on Ryan Humphrey in the third to keep the CBJ up. He had a 2.82 GAA in 60 games a season ago with Oshawa of the OHL. ... Both starting goalies hailed from Manotick, Ontario. ... The Blue Jackets finished the event without a power-play tally but did score at 4-on-4 and shorthanded in the three games. ... Max McCue and Nolan Collins picked up fighting majors, giving the Blue Jackets seven in the three contests. ... Ottawa was the lone squad at the six-team Prospects Challenge to finish winless.
Roster Report
Columbus turned to Oster in net as all three goalies the Blue Jackets took to Buffalo got the chance to play a full game. Defenseman Charlie Elick and forward Jack Van Volsen were the skater scratches.
Up Next
The Blue Jackets have completed the event in Buffalo and will now return for the start of training camp, presented by OhioHealth, this week.
