Vitek Vanecek came into Tuesday night’s game against the Blue Jackets a perfect 6-0 in his career against them. Thanks to another strong effort, he made that 7-0.
Vanecek made 49 saves while former Blue Jacket Alexander Wennberg scored at 3:11 of overtime to lift the Sharks to a 2-1 win over the Blue Jackets. It was a game the Blue Jackets win more often than not with the final shot count 50-27 in their favor.
Game Recap
The first period was dominated by the Blue Jackets in play and possession. They outshot the Sharks 13-6 and had two power-play chances. Vanecek was sharp early. Anything that was going to beat him was going to involve traffic around the net.
Despite just flying to San Jose Monday, the Blue Jackets came out flying with jet lag not affecting them. They controlled the pace and used their speed to tilt the ice.
It was more of the same in the second with the Blue Jackets outshooting the Sharks 17-11. However just after the Sharks power play expired, four seconds after to be exact, Jack Thompson scored his first NHL goal with just 1:11 left in the second. He was on the left wing and had an open net to shoot at.
Despite trailing 1-0 after two periods, the Blue Jackets felt they were playing well. They were going to push knowing they had to get the tying goal.
Finally at 9:17 of the third period and on their 44th shot of the game, Kirill Marchenko crashed the net and put the puck past Vanecek to make it 1-1. For Marchenko, that was his fifth goal and 13th point of the season. He remains above a point per game 12 games into the season.
Both teams then traded chances for the rest of the third. Overtime was required to find a winner.
In overtime, Wennberg was able to race up the ice with the puck and beat Merzlikins high to win the game. It was a little bit of sweet revenge for him as he remains on the Blue Jackets’ payroll for one more season.
With the overtime loss, the Blue Jackets fall to 5-5-2. They don’t play again until Saturday night in Los Angeles. The Sharks improve to 4-8-2 with the win. They host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.