Jackets Shoot Down Stars

It may have started slow from both teams, but the Columbus Blue Jackets were up to the task against the Dallas Stars. Elvis Merzlikins and the penalty kill unite provided the needed backstop for the home team to earn its forth win of the season.

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FIRST PERIOD

Both teams seemed to be unsure of each other, maybe be even tentative for the first 5 minutes of the period. Even the slim Monday night crowd at Nationwide Arena was basically silent. However, in minute six, Oliver Bjorkstrand receives a pass from Jack Roslovic through the neutral zone and slotted the puck glove side on Braden Holtby to give the Jackets a 1-0 lead.

Dallas went on the game's first power play and bounced a shot of the post of Merzlikins, but were unable to score.

The first Columbus power play came in the 16th minute. While they mustered a few shots, they couldn't break the Stars' penalty kill.

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SECOND PERIOD

Another quite-ish first 5 minutes except that the Jackets kept all the action on the Stars' side of the ice highlighted by a slap shot from Patrik Laine that split a Dallas defender's stick in half. In a mad scramble in the Dallas crease, Cole Sillinger appeared to poke the puck under Holtby and across the goal line, but the goal was waved off after video review.

Right after the 10 minute mark, Gregory Hofmann scored a NO DOUBTER for his first career NHL goal and a Jackets 2-0 lead. With less than a minute in the period Silliger got his hands a little dirty as he got into fisticuffs with Dallas' Denis Gurianov and received a double minor for his efforts.

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THIRD PERIOD

Jackets start out start the period strong with a Laine breakaway that was saved by Holtby. It didn't take long before Zach Werenski got himself on the score sheet as he followed up on a deflected shot by Sean Kurlay to increase the Jackets' lead to 3-0.

The period continued in its liveliness as the speed of play picked up with Dallas discovering a sense of urgency all of a sudden. The Stars finally broke Merzlikins shutout bid with three minutes left in the game, but Columbus quickly responded via an Alexandre Texier empty net goal to make it 4-1.

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FINAL THOUGHTS‍

- This team looks and feel different. Granted, the power play seems to still struggle, but at least they are taking shots on goal as opposed to just passing it around and looking for that perfect shot only to come up empty.

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- Elvis and the penalty kill unit played a textbook game. They held their defensive shape, got into Dallas' shooting and passing lanes, and cleared the puck as soon as they could.

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- These two teams came in pretty even on paper, but Columbus was more methodical. The Jackets could have added probably 3 more goals to their tally had some opportunities come through.

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- Columbus now gets a few days off before heading to New York to battle the Rangers on Friday.