Marchenko sets record in Jackets' win
Sunday, April 2, 2023
By Kevin Rouch
krouch@cbussports.com
Blue Jackets’ winger Kirill Marchenko in a game earlier this season. Marchenko set a new CBJ rookie scoring record with his 21st goal of the season against the Ottawa Senators April 2. It was the game-winner in overtime. Photo: Kevin Rouch
The Ottawa Senators came into Nationwide Arena Sunday with a chance, however slight, to earn a playoff spot. They trailed Florida by six points for the second wild card position with six games remaining in their regular season schedule and a game in hand versus the Panthers.
The Blue Jackets had lost four straight, one in overtime. Both teams were coming off losses Saturday night. The Jackets were routed by Florida 7-0 in a game that saw fewer veterans on the ice for Columbus than would be needed to stage a pre-season game under NHL rules. The Senators were shut out as well Saturday, falling in Toronto 3-0.
Columbus would for the second time in as many nights be without a significant number of its usual lineup. In goal for the first time as a Blue Jacket was Jon Gillies, who the team picked up from Arizona in the Jakub Voracek trade earlier this season. He was called up from Cleveland when Elvis Merzlikins went out with an injury on March 26.
The Blue Jackets got on the board first in what would be an exciting first period. After a tripping penalty was called on Ottawa’s Mathieu Joseph early in the frame, Kent Johnson scored his 16th goal of the season at 2:41 with a wrist shot from the right circle. Gavin Bayreuther and Johnny Gaudreau notched assists. It was Gaudreau’s 70th point of the season, the fifth time he has hit that mark in his career. He is the sixth player to accomplish it for the Jackets.
Ottawa evened the score when Dylan Gambrell tipped in a pass from Erik Brannstrom at 4:00. Just five seconds later, Columbus retook the lead as Eric Robinson took a rebounded shot from Emil Bemstrom and rushed the net to score his 11th goal of the season. Bemstrom and Justin Richards recorded helpers.
At 9:26 in the first, Ottawa’s Mark Kastelic got a slap shot past Gillies to tie the score at 2-2 on a bizarre play. Just prior to the goal, Gillies lost a skate blade and held on to the cross bar to make a save off a shot from Tyler Klevin, which rebounded to Kastelic, who then scored his 6th goal of the campaign.
“I was able to make the first save, but it went right to their guy for a one-timer … so that was unfortunate,” said Gillies after the game, noting that he had never lost a blade during play. “It didn’t bother me, it was kind of funny actually. It was unfortunate that it went in.”
Alex Debrincat put the Senators on top for the first time when he took the puck off a face-off in the Jackets’ zone and made a wrister at 14:46 as he skated through the slot. Ridley Greig, who won the face-off, garnered the assist. A back-and-forth opening period ended with the visitors ahead 3-2.
Johnny Gaudreau added two assists in the Blue Jackets’ 4-3 overtime win against Ottawa April 2. Gaudreau reached the 70-point mark for the fifth time in his career. Photo: Kevin Rouch
The second stanza saw no goals scored by either squad, but Gillies made several key saves during the Senators’ first power play of the evening. The sellout crowd at Nationwide seemed to find its stride as the Jackets’ defense turned away the Ottawa attack.
In the third period, the defenses picked up where they left off in the second. It wasn’t until Boone Jenner’s equalizer with 5:49 left in regulation that the scoreboard changed. Jenner’s shot came from the left circle after Kirill Marchenko took the puck to the crease but was denied by Ottawa goalie Cam Talbott and his attempt caromed to Jenner for the put-back.
On the scoring play, Marchenko went down hard but stayed in the game. He joked in the dressing room that his rushing the net was really meant to result in a pass to Jenner. He then fessed up, “(I’ve worked) more in the season for this move,” adding that he intended to try it again in the future.
Neither team would score again in regulation and the game went to overtime. It took only 16 seconds for the Jackets to net the winning goal. Johnny Gaudreau forced a turnover in the Ottawa zone, then made a quick pass to Marchenko who buried the shot for the win. It was his 21st of the season, setting a new record for a Blue Jacket rookie. He had previously been tied with Pierre-Luc Dubois. The final score was 4-3.
The Blue Jackets go back on the road as they fly to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs at ScotiaBank Arena Tuesday. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m.