Patrik Laine had a hat trick, Boone Jenner scored a goal and had two assists, and the Columbus Blue Jackets earned a 7-4 road victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
The Blue Jackets finished 4-1-0 on a five-game road trip and ended a six-game winless (0-3-3) drought against Chicago dating back to last season.
Laine’s hat trick was the ninth of his NHL career and extended his points streak to eight games. He has 16 points (10 goals, six assists) during the streak, with multi-point performances in six of the eight games.
Jenner assisted on two of Laine’s goals and scored his team-high 20th goal of the season. Jenner also leads the Blue Jackets in points with 37.
Max Domi and Yegor Chinakhov each had a goal and an assist for Columbus, and Oliver Bjorkstrand also scored for the Blue Jackets. Gustav Nyquist, Vladislav Gavrikov and Zach Werenski each contributed two assists.
The seven goals allowed are a season high for Chicago.
Ryan Carpenter and Philipp Kurashev each had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks, who are 3-7-2 in their last 12 games. Alex DeBrincat and MacKenzie Entwistle scored Chicago’s other goals, and rookie goalie Arvid Soderblom, playing in his third NHL game, made 30 saves.
Patrick Kane had the 719th assist of his NHL career, tying him with Hall of Famer Denis Savard for second place on the Blackhawks’ all-time assists list. Stan Mikita is No. 1 with 926.
The teams combined for five goals during a wild first period. Columbus took an early 2-0 lead when Jenner and Chinakhov scored within a 13-second span. The Blackhawks tied the game 2-2 on goals by Kurashev and Carpenter, but Domi’s breakaway goal at 16:55 put Columbus ahead 3-2.
Elvis Merzlikins made 28 saves to earn his 18th win of the season.
–Field Level Media
