The Blue Jackets never trailed as they defeated the Boston Bruins by a 4-3 score in overtime in their second of three games at the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo on Saturday afternoon.
Game in a Paragraph
Despite being outshot, the Blue Jackets were able to capitalize on a few mistakes by the Bruins youngsters to pick up their first win as an organization in the 2024-25 season. The Blue Jackets scored three unassisted goals including one by defenseman Denton Mateychuk.
CBJ Standouts
- Columbus’ 12th-overall selection in the 2022 draft, Denton Mateychuk, scored in his first appearance of the tournament and earned the primary assist on the OT goal.
- Luca Del Bel Belluz scored the game-winning goal in overtime as he now has a goal and assist in his two appearances in Buffalo.
- 2023 fourth-round pick Luca Pinelli scored his first goal of the tournament after topping the 40-goal mark a year ago in the OHL.
How It Happened
The Blue Jackets got on the board early in the first period as camp invite Pano Fimis forced the Bruins into a defensive zone turnover and capitalized off the individual effort. The Bruins had another costly turnover as Pinelli doubled the lead for Columbus off an interception at his offensive blue line, and after he made a couple Bruins miss, he rifled a shot past Andrew Oke’s glove side. Boston made it 2-1 with less than five minutes remaining in the opening frame as a strong shot by Brett Harrison found its way through Evan Gardner’s five-hole.
The Bruins came out fast in the middle frame as Lucas Romeo was able to equalize the score 2:17 into the period. Mateychuk got his first of the tournament midway through the second as he took a snap shot from the point and beat Oke high to reclaim the lead. Boson then tied the game 3-3 off a goal by Adam Mechura with 3:05 left in the period.
Columbus had the first opportunity in the final period of the afternoon. Del Bel Belluz and Gavin Brindley attempted to catch the Bruins on a line change, but they failed to convert on the two-on-one. Mechura had an opportunity to spoil the game for the Blue Jackets as he got the puck on his tape with a wide-open net to shoot at, but it rolled right off of his stick with only 50 seconds left in the period.
In overtime, Oke made two crucial saves on Fimis as he was one-on-one with the Bruins goaltender. The Blue Jackets dominated possession in the second half of the frame and eventually capitalized off of it. Mateychuk won a battle for the puck and sent a backhanded pass across the offensive zone, where Del Bel Belluz buried it past Oke to earn the win.
Notable
Gardner turned away 33 of 36 shots faced en route to his first win as a Blue Jacket. ... There was some animosity between the two teams as the game featured three different fights, including two in the third period and 46 total penalty minutes. ... Neither team scored on the power play as each team went 0-for-2.
Roster Report
Both Mateychuk and James Malatesta made their first appearances at the event after being scratched in Friday night’s loss vs. Buffalo, while Gardner spelled Nolan Lalonde in net.
Up Next
The Blue Jackets will wrap up the Prospects Challenge on Monday at 1:30 p.m. as they take on the Ottawa Senators.
