The Columbus Blue Jackets saw a 2–0 lead evaporate at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday night, ultimately falling 5–3 to the Vegas Golden Knights. Despite chasing the Vegas starter early and a milestone night for Zach Werenski, the Blue Jackets were undone by a three-goal second-period surge and a failure to capitalize on a massive goaltending transition.
Game Summary
1st Period: The Hart Injury and Early Blitz
Shots: Vegas 10, Columbus 7
08:24 – Boone Jenner (7th of season): Jenner opened the scoring with a tip-in shot. Moments before the goal, Vegas goalie Carter Hart suffered a non-contact leg injury. Hart left immediately and was replaced by Akira Schmid.
10:41 – Kent Johnson (4th of season): Johnson ended a 15-game drought with a clinical snap shot from the low slot, beat Schmid on the glove side for his 4th of the year.
12:20 – Reilly Smith (7th of season): Vegas stopped the bleeding late when Smith redirected a Ben Hutton shot inside the post.
Power Play: Vegas 0/0, Columbus 0/1.
2nd Period: The Tactical Shift Vegas completely took over the middle frame with three unanswered goals.
Shots: Vegas 12, Columbus 5
05:19 – Reilly Smith (8th of season): Smith tied the game on the rush by flicking a wrist shot over Jet Greaves’ near-side shoulder. It was his 8th of the season and his first two-goal game since April of last year.
13:07 – Jack Eichel (13th of season): Eichel gave Vegas its first lead, roofing a shot past Jet Greaves.
18:44 – Mark Stone (14th of season): On the game’s only successful Power Play, Stone extended the lead to 4–2, marking his sixth consecutive game with a goal.
3rd Period: The Insurance Marker
Shots: Columbus 11, Vegas 4
14:28 – Kirill Marchenko (16th of season): Marchenko cut the lead to 4–3 with a snap shot under Schmid’s pad.
16:14 – Brett Howden (9th of season): The comeback was short-lived as Howden finished a 2-on-1 rush to seal the 5–3 final.
Power Play: Vegas 0/1.
Inside of the Locker Room – Coach Dean Evason
“We battled hard and tried to do the right things, but in the end, it just wasn’t enough,” Evason said.
“We get it back to a one-goal game, and then we give up a 2-on-1. That’s the difference. At that moment, I don’t know if we just shut it off — mentally shut it off — instead of staying locked in and doing the right things.”
Milestones & Notes
The Werenski Streak: With an assist on the opening goal, Zach Werenski extended his point streak to 9 games. He logged a game-high 26:37 of ice time.
Marchenko’s Heater: Kirill Marchenko now has 6 goals and 3 assists in his last 8 games.
Injury Update (Mason Marchment): Marchment remains on Injured Reserve and is considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury suffered on Jan 4. He is expected to miss the remainder of this road trip.
Jenner’s goal was the 403rd point of his career (206 goals, 197 assists) to move past Cam Atkinson for the third-most points in franchise history
Defenseman Egor Zamula played 11:12 with two giveaways and a blocked shot in his Blue Jackets debut after signing a one-year contract on Tuesday
Blue Jackets forward Mikael Pyyhtia played 9:27 in his season debut after being recalled from Cleveland of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.
| Category | Columbus | Vegas |
| Total Shots on Goal | 23 | 26 |
| Power Play | 0/1 | 1/2 |
| Hits | 28 | 17 |
| Blocked Shots | 12 | 21 |
| Faceoff Win % | 63.2% | 36.8% |
| Giveaways | 18 | 15 |
| Takeaways | 4 | 8 |
Three Stars of the Game
⭐ Mark Stone (VGK): 1 Goal, 2 Assists
⭐⭐ Reilly Smith (VGK): 2 Goals (Erased the 2–0 deficit)
⭐⭐⭐ Jack Eichel (VGK): 1 Goal, 1 Assist (Game-winner)
Game Takeaway: Possession vs. Production
The ultimate takeaway from this game is the contrast between volume and efficiency.
The Losing Streak: Columbus has now lost three straight games, including the first two games of this critical four-game Western road trip (San Jose and Vegas).
Puck Management Failure: Columbus dominated possession with a 62–51 Corsi advantage, but that possession was hollow because they surrendered 18 giveaways.
The “Dirty Area” Gap: Despite winning 63% of faceoffs, the Blue Jackets couldn’t penetrate the interior. Vegas out-blocked Columbus 21–12.
Special Teams: Going 0-for-1 on the man-advantage while allowing a goal to Mark Stone shifted the momentum for good.
Next Game
Columbus continues their road trip in Denver to face the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, January 10, at 10:00 PM ET.
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