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P69– One Haula Night for ex-CBJ “C” Foligno! Leads to 6th Straight Loss |
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The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to slip in games, with this now being their 6th consecutive loss. This now a 0.500 team after dropping a 5-2 bomb against the Boston Bruins at the T.D. Garden.
Before puck drop, Boston helped honor the former Columbus captain, Nick Foligno, with his 1,000th career NHL game. Foligno was a first round pick of the Ottawa Senators, joining Columbus in a trade that sent defenseman Marc Methot back to Ottawa.
After playing with the Union Blue for 9 years, including the end as team captain, he was traded to Toronto for a first round pick in 2021 and a fourth round pick in 2022. During his tenure with Columbus, he was also an NHL All Star, and the recipient of the Mark Messier Leadership Award and the King Clancy Award in the 2016-2017 season. He served as captain during their first ever playoff series win, in the 4-0 sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning, before losing to Boston in 6 games.
After a first round exit by the Montreal Canadiens, he joined the Bruins as a free agent in the summer. Foligno made many frequent trips during his time with Columbus to Boston, for the health of his daughter and the treatment she was getting. It was the best move for him and his family.
Foligno was honored with a team gift by the Jackets, being a bottle of wine from the club, having the Jackets, Senators, and Bruins logos visible on the front, before getting his silver stick in front of the fans at the Garden.
Major congratulations to him and his entire family! He also becomes the second ever father/son duo to play in 1,000 NHL regular season games.
In the game itself, the Bruins opened the scoring in the late stages of the first period with an Erik Haula snapper, for his 11th of the regular season. The primary assist came from linemate Taylor Hall, the former Hart Trophy winner. The secondary assist came from defenseman Charlie McAvoy.
Columbus came back with their two goals stretching into into the final 28 seconds of the first, and first 42 seconds of the second period. Gustav Nyquist got the tying goal with his 17th of the year. Rookie Cole Sillinger got his 11th career assist; defender Adam Boqvist got the secondary helper for his 10th as a Blue Jacket. Justin Danforth got the go-ahead goal for his 7th career NHL goal. Linemates Yegor Chinakov and Sean Kuraly (my player to watch) got the final Columbus apples.
Boston came back with scoring 4 goals to finish the game, though half were on an empty net. Brad Marchand tied the game with his 31st of the season; linemates Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk had the assists.
Erik Haula’s second of the game came on the power play in the dying minutes of the game. His power play goal was his 12th as a Bruin. Defensemen Brandon Carlo and Hampus Lindholm (my Boston player to watch) had the assists in the game winning goal. Lindholm obtained his third point as a Bruin from this goal.
The first empty net goal came from DeBrusk for his 19th this year; Marchand and McAvoy got the extra points. Lastly, Charlie Coyle’s counted for his 15th; Bergeron and Marchand had the final assists.
Jeremy Swayman had 19 saves on 21 shots faced for a 0.917 save percentage; meanwhile, Elvis Merzlikins had 37 saves on 40 shots on net for a 0.921 save percentage.
Hampus Lindholm served as my Bruins’ player to watch last night, and was he everywhere or what? He had an assist and a +1 on the board, while also playing 23:53 on the ice and having a hit with 3 blocked shots.
Kuraly played 17:44 last night, with one assist and block shot; having two hits; and having a 42.1% winning percentage in the faceoff circle.
CBJ Three Stars of the Game
1. Gustav Nyquist— goal (17)
2. Justin Danforth— goal (7)
3. Elvis Merzlikins— L, 0.921 SV%
Fans! Don’t forget to follow me @ZakMacBuzz!!
Columbus Blue Jackets Blogger • 
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