Hockey: Nichushkin and Johnson seal 2-1 victory for Blue Jackets over Stars
Columbus snapped a scoreless deadlock in the third period before using a shootout to extend their home winning streak to three games.
By Ricardo Alvarez ·
Valeri Nichushkin and Kent Johnson converted their shootout attempts to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night. The win marked the third consecutive home triumph for Columbus, which improved its record in games extending past regulation to 5-0. Nichushkin scored on a backhand shot as the team's second shooter, while Johnson found success by shooting between the legs of Dallas goaltender Casey DeSmith. This marked Johnson's second game-deciding shootout goal of the season.
The regulation period remained scoreless until the third, when a sequence of events shifted the momentum. Dallas appeared to break the tie in the final second of the second period, but the puck did not fully cross the goal line before the buzzer sounded. Mikko Rantanen eventually broke through at 6:27 of the third period, scoring his ninth goal of the season following a turnover by Ivan Provorov in front of the Columbus net. Wyatt Johnston provided the assist on the play. DeSmith stopped 29 shots for Dallas, which saw its two-game winning streak end with the loss.
Zach Werenski responded with his first goal of the season with 3:14 remaining in the third period to tie the match. The goal extended his personal point streak to five games. Kent Johnson recorded an assist in regulation, extending his own point streak to six games and giving him the team lead with 14 total points. Cam Talbot stopped 27 shots for Columbus, securing his fourth straight win and his 27th career shootout victory.
The Stars travel to host San Jose on Saturday. Columbus plays at Buffalo on Friday to complete a back-to-back schedule.
