Blue Jackets run away to win over Blues in preseason contest

The Blue Jackets posted a 7-0 victory in preseason action Thursday night against the St. Louis Blues in Nationwide Arena.

CBJ Standouts

• Yegor Chinakhov scored for the fourth straight game to take over the NHL lead with five preseason goals.
• Jakub Voracek, Justin Danforth and Zach Werenski added matching 1-1-2 lines.
• Andrew Peeke finished with four assists and a plus-6 rating, plus added four hits.
• Daniil Tarasov went the distance and stopped all 24 shots he saw.

Quick Recap

Columbus was all over the Blues from the drop of the puck and scored 1:03 into action when the top line finally cashed in a dominant shift as Patrik Laine whacked a bouncing puck past Thomas Greiss. Chinakhov doubled the lead exactly 11 minutes later with a beautiful move, sweeping into the zone with speed and lifting a quick shot over Greiss into the top corner. Then at 13:56, Jack Roslovic scored a shorthanded goal, getting into the slot with a toe-drag and firing home.
In the second, the Blue Jackets just kept on going, with Werenski making it 4-0 just 5:30 into the period on an odd-man rush; Johnny Gaudreau's attempted pass to Laine was broken up, but Johnny Hockey regathered the puck and fed the trailing Werenski for the shot. Voracek increased the lead to 5-0 at 12:33, as he took the rebound of a Peeke shot off the back wall and tucked it home.
Cole Sillinger made it 6-0 with exactly 14:00 to play with St. Louis facing a delayed penalty call, taking a feed from Justin Danforth in the slot and firing home. Danforth then did the honors a few minutes later, making it 7-0 with 10:39 to play and ending Greiss' night when he finished a sweet no-look feed from Kent Johnson.

Notable

Columbus held a 33-24 advantage in shots on goal and an 58-34 edge in shot attempts. … Thirteen CBJ players had at least a point. … Voracek has scored a goal in all three preseason games in which he has appeared. … Columbus finished the home slate at 4-0-0 in the preseason. The Jackets are 0-2-1 on the road. … Mathieu Olivier dropped the gloves in the first period and finished with two hits. ... Captain Boone Jenner had four hits in his preseason debut.

Roster Report

Here is a link to the roster the Blue Jackets used for the game, with Columbus playing much of its NHL lineup for the dress rehearsal game. One late scratch happened, though, with David Jiricek entering for Erik Gudbranson (lower body).

Up Next

Columbus finishes the preseason Saturday at Washington before the season begins next week. The Blue Jackets open Wednesday at Carolina before the home opener Friday night vs. Tampa Bay.