Chinakhov, Werenski, Fabbro each notch two points, Greaves makes 24 saves in preseason action
The Blue Jackets completed a stretch of four preseason games in four days with a 4-1 victory over Pittsburgh on Wednesday night at Nationwide Arena.
A CBJ lineup filled with several regulars got off to a bit of a slow start as Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead, but the Blue Jackets did what they had to do from there. Columbus took a 2-1 lead in the second period and finished things off, notching a pair of power-play goals and a shorthanded empty-netter to earn the victory.
Kent Johnson, Jake Christiansen, Jet Greaves and Head Coach Dean Evason speak to the media after tonight’s 4-1 home preseason win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
CBJ head coach Dean Evason on having a day off after four games in four days: “I’m not complaining, believe me, but it’s a bit of a grind. … It’s nice to get the day off at this point. We’d have it anyway probably, but four in a row is a lot.”
Columbus came out with speed and had chances from Kirill Marchenko and Luca Pinelli in the early going, but it was Pittsburgh that got on the board first when Zach Gallant got loose in the right circle and beat Greaves far side to the blocker 9:45 into the game. Columbus got the equalizer with 2:36 left in the first as Chinakhov took a pass entering the zone from Werenski, glided to the top of the left circle and uncorked an 86.7-mph wrister past goalie Arturs Silovs.
The Blue Jackets gained the lead for the first time in the middle frame, and it came off the stick of Christiansen on the power play. The CBJ defenseman took the puck at the right point along the wall, moved to the middle of the ice and let loose a wrist shot that sailed through traffic and into the top corner of the net over Silovs’ glove to make it 2-1 just 4:53 into the period. Silovs was then replaced by Filip Larsson in net at the midway point.
Columbus had a trio of power plays in the third period and was able to put things away from there. With the Blue Jackets holding a 5-on-3 advantage, Kent Johnson made it a 3-1 game with 8:48 to go as he weaved his way from the right circle to the slot and fired a shot past Larsson thanks in part to a screen from Boone Jenner. Greaves made a breakaway stop on 2025 first-round pick Ben Kindel shortly thereafter and the Jackets were able to ice the game with Fabbro’s full-ice empty-net goal with 3:02 to play.
The Blue Jackets have notched power-play goals in two straight games and finished 2-for-7 with the man advantage. … Greaves has stopped 47 of 49 shots (.959 save percentage) in two preseason appearances. … Christiansen scored 12 power-play goals in his last three AHL seasons with Cleveland but has zero in NHL regular-season games. … Adam Fantilli had five shot attempts, three hits and won eight of 10 faceoffs. … Columbus’ PK was a perfect 5-for-5.
Here is the roster the Blue Jackets used for the contest. The game marked the preseason debuts of Jenner, Werenski and Fabbro as well as veteran forwards Charlie Coyle and Sean Monahan.
The Blue Jackets are away from game action for a few days, next taking the ice for preseason play when they make a return trip to Pittsburgh on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on BlueJackets.com and shown on NHL Network.
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