Blues woes vs. Columbus continue in 2-1 loss to the Blue Jackets

Matthew DeFranks, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Jan 11, 2025

Published in Hockey

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ST. LOUIS — It's probably a good thing the Columbus Blue Jackets are in the Eastern Conference.

That way, the Blues can only lose to them twice a season.

The Blues lost 2-1 to Columbus on Saturday night at Enterprise Center, marking the fourth straight game that they've lost to the Blue Jackets. St. Louis hasn't beaten the Jackets since spring 2023, when Sammy Blais scored for the Blues.

On Saturday night, Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger scored for the Jackets, as Jet Greaves made 30 saves for Columbus, as Colton Parayko scored the Blues' only goal of the evening with 10.5 seconds remaining.

The loss snapped a string of five games for the Blues scoring at least four goals. In the last eight games, the Blues were the highest-scoring team in the NHL, averaging 4.625 goals per game.

The Blues played the final four minutes with an empty net, including when they went on a power play with 1:37 when Zack Werenski tripped Jordan Kyrou. Parayko scored on the power play as time wound down.

St. Louis will continue its four-game home stand on Tuesday and Thursday when they host the Calgary Flames for two games.

Sloppy start

The Blues fell behind 1-0 with 4:22 remaining in the first period when Fantilli finished after Kirill Marchenko slipped him a pass at the net-front. Columbus won the puck by pick-pocketing Cam Fowler in the corner, and then quickly turning the turnover into a goal.

The goal was the receipt for a haphazard start to the game for the Blues. It was difficult for St. Louis to exit the zone thanks to weak outlet passes and poor puck management below the blue line. Overall, the Blues had nine giveaways in the first period.

That would have put them on pace for 27 giveaways across an entire game, which would have been the most for them this season. The nine giveaways were also more than the Blues had in three full games this season.

The sloppiness in their own zone contributed to Columbus having the game's first five shots on goal as the Blues failed to register a shot in the first four minutes. The Blues Jackets owned a 11-9 edge in shots in the first period.

Busy stretch for Sundqvist

In the final five minutes of the second period, Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist took center stage, and not always in a good way.

With 5:03 left in the period, Sundqvist was called for holding Denton Mateychuk to put Columbus on the power play for the first time in the game. Jordan Binnington left his crease thinking the penalty call was on Columbus, which could have created headaches for the Blues had the Jackets gotten possession before the Blues did.

The Blue Jackets capitalized when Sillinger scored with six seconds remaining in the power play.

Sillinger was camped out in front of the net to receive a James van Riemsdyk pass and squeak a shot through Binnington. On the play, both Blues defensemen ended up below the goalline as Justin Faulk pressured the puck in the corner, followed by Fowler vacating the net-front to go behind the net.

On Sundqvist's next shift, he helped put the Blues on the power play. After the whistle, Sundqvist was pushed down in front of the Blue Jackets net by Mathieu Olivier. That drew the attention of Blues teammate Jake Neighbours, who ultimately drew a roughing penalty on Olivier.

But Sundqvist ended the Blues power play 10 seconds early when he was called for hooking Sean Kuraly.

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