Chinakhov hat trick lifts Blue Jackets over Red Wings in hard-hitting prospect game
Russian forward leads Traverse City NHL Prospects Tournament in scoring with six goals in three games.
Brian Hedger
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – Yegor Chinakhov is making it look as easy as “1-2-3" while scoring goals in bunches at the 2021 Traverse City NHL Prospects Tournament.
Chinakhov, 20, had a hat trick for the Blue Jackets on Sunday in a 7-3 rout of the host Detroit Red Wings at Centre Ice Arena, giving him six goals in three games — all Columbus victories. He began the tournament with a goal in the team’s 4-3 overtime victory Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, added two goals in a 5-3 victory Friday over the Dallas Stars and torched the Red Wings for three tallies.
Chinakhov, the KHL's rookie-of-the-year last season, is leading all scorers with six points, all on goals, and his shooting percentage is a sizzling 46.2% on 13 shots. Three of his goals have capped power plays, including two against Detroit, and he's scored the deciding goal in the Jackets’ past two games. The record for overall goals in a tournament by one player is seven, last done by Detroit's Joe Veleno in 2019.
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“I think I’ve got a stacked deck,” said Cleveland Monsters assistant Trent Vogelhuber, who’s filling in for Mike Eaves as head coach of the prospect team. “Put (Chinakhov) over the boards and I look like a genius. The shot stands out, but he works. He’s engaged, he asks questions. He’s still learning the language, but he’s such a great kid. It’s only been a week, but you can just tell he’s going to be a good teammate and player for a long time.”
That’s the Blue Jackets’ hope, but Chinakhov isn’t the only prospect shining here for Columbus. Cole Sillinger, 18, and Jake Christiansen, 22, are tied for second in scoring among all skaters — each with five points — and Tyler Angle is in a four-way tie for fourth with four points.
Josh Dunne, wearing the captain’s ‘C’, has also made an impact.
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Dunne's goal against the Red Wings was his second in the tournament and third point. The 22-year old pivot, who made his NHL debut last season, also notched the Jackets’ second “Gordie Howe hat trick” of the tournament with a goal, assist and fighting major.
The fight began seconds after Red Wings defenseman Wyatt Newpower launched Sillinger headfirst into the boards early in the second. Sillinger impacted hard, but wasn’t injured. Dunne and Newpower, teammates last season with the Monsters, squared off behind the net. Dunne got the better of a long scrap and skated away to the sound of his teammates’ sticks clacking the boards.
“It just goes to show what kind of guy he is,” Sillinger said. “He’s wearing the ‘C’ on his chest for a reason. That was awesome for him to get in there. He got a spark for our team, for sure.”
Newpower’s hit appeared to be retaliation for a hit by Blue Jackets forward James Malatesta late in the first. Attempting to challenge for the puck near the end boards in the Detroit zone, Malatesta injured Red Wings defenseman Jared McIsaac by sending him headfirst into the glass.
McIsaac immediately dropped to the ice and was motionless for a couple minutes. He was strapped to a stretcher and taken to a nearby hospital. A Red Wings spokesman said the defenseman, a second-round pick in 2018, regained consciousness and could move all his extremities before leaving the ice. He underwent further testing at the hospital and was discharged shortly after the game ended.
"I was going in on the forecheck and at the last second I saw him turn," Malatesta said. "It was, kind of, too late to get out of the way. Things happen so fast at game speed on the ice. It wasn’t my intention to hurt anyone out there. To see that, it’s definitely hard and I’m kind of mad at myself. I just hope he’s OK."
Detroit played without two of its top forwards, Jonathan Berggren and Lucas Raymond, and began the game with only 17 skaters (10 forwards, seven defensemen). Losing McIsaac further depleted the Red Wings’ bench, but his loss was offset by the Blue Jackets losing Malatesta — who was issued a boarding major and game misconduct.
The game also went to the first intermission a couple minutes early after McIsaac was taken to the hospital. The reason was because there was no ambulance left on site.
The Blue Jackets led 3-1 on goals by Peter Reynolds, Sillinger and Dunne.
In the second, which began after the remaining time from the first period was played, Chinakhov helped Columbus maintain a two-goal margin thanks to the first of his goals. Detroit’s Pasquale Zito cut the Jackets’ lead to 3-2 on a power play 5:48 into the period, but Chinakhov matched it on a Columbus power play 10 minutes later — making it 4-2 with one-timer just seconds after Dunne won a face-off to Jake Christiansen.
Chinakhov scored with a hard wrist shot from the slot early in the third, making it 5-2, and notched the hat trick with another one-timer to cap a power play with 6:49 left.
Ben Boyd, selected by the Blue Jackets in the sixth round of this year’s draft, completed the scoring with a backhand-forehand shot off a rush up the right wing with 5:19 left, giving the physical forward his second point (goal and assist).
The Blue Jackets play their final game Monday in a rematch against Toronto. A win sends them back to Columbus for training camp with a 4-0 record. Since only five teams came to Traverse City this year, including the St. Louis Blues mandating they would only play three games, no winner will be announced and the Matthew Wuest Memorial Cup will not be awarded.
The Blue Jackets have won the tournament five times and would be playing for a sixth in a normal year.
“That’s a huge credit to (general manager Jarmo Kekalainen’s) scouting staff and the whole team,” said Vogelhuber, who is being assisted by European development coach Jarkko Ruutu and former Blue Jacket Mark Letestu. “They’re such good kids and it’s such a great group. I’m excited for the opportunity to have, hopefully, a decent amount of them in Cleveland this year.”
bhedger@dispatch.com
@BrianHedger