Goals by Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko highlight frustrating loss in second game for Columbus.
TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN — Day two wasn’t nearly as fun for the Blue Jackets.
After steamrolling the St. Louis Blues 7-1 to start the Traverse City NHL Prospect Tournament on Thursday, the Jackets stumbled Friday in a 5-2 loss at Centre Ice Arena to the host Detroit Red Wings.
Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko kept pace, each scoring a goal and Johnson adding an assist, but the rest of the Columbus roster struggled against a Red Wings team bolstered by highly-regarded defensemen. Detroit was also paced offensively by a four-goal game from Riley Piercey, a free-agent forward from the Ontario Hockey League’s Flint Firebirds.
“We had a little offensive confidence and swagger from (the Blues game), so I thought as the game went along, we started to do a little bit too much,” said Cleveland Monsters coach Trent Vogelhuber, who’s coaching the Blue Jackets for the second time in the tournament. “We got a little too fancy … which created some turnovers and then not taking advantage of our opportunities (hurt). We didn’t shoot enough, and from prime scoring areas, passing out of it. ”
Detroit outshot Columbus 30-26 and finished 1 for 3 on power plays. The Blue Jackets didn’t score on either of their two power plays. The Red Wings’ power-play goal, scored by center Drew Worrad, made it 3-1 in the second period and was their lone tally not scored by Piercey ― who scored once in the first, once in the second and twice in the third.
Johnson’s goal tied it 1-1 halfway through the first and he hit the crossbar on another attempt. The fifth overall pick of the 2021 NHL draft also assisted on Marchenko’s goal that pulled the Blue Jackets within 4-2 at 11:47 of the third. Playing center for the first time since his junior years in the British Columbia Hockey League, Johnson has looked good down the middle in both games.
He has two goals, three assists and five points with one game left Sunday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“I played well (against St. Louis), but I didn’t play my whole game,” said Johnson, who starred at the University of Michigan the past two seasons and played for three Canadian national teams the past year. “Today I liked it a lot better. It’s good getting back in there (at center), battling at the (faceoff) dots … it felt a lot better than (Thursday), so that’s good.”
Marchenko was also more comfortable.
“(Thursday) was his first game on NHL ice,” Vogelhuber said. “As scrambly as it is, without systems or being super organized, it seems even faster. That’s totally expected. It’s going to take some time … playing new systems and playing on a different-sized ice sheet (than in Russia). It’s a positive just seeing him feeling, from the first game to the second, much more comfortable.”
Blue Jackets forward Mikael Pyyhtia leaves with injury
Columbus played the final two-plus periods with 11 forwards after Mikael Pyyhtia left in the first period following a stick to the face. He assisted on Johnson’s goal before leaving and flip-flopped sides with Marchenko from how they lined up Thursday on the top forward line.
Pyyhtia moved to the right wing against Detroit, allowing Marchenko to shift back to his preferred side on the left. Vogelhuber said the injury isn’t thought to be a long-term issue.
“He’ll be fine,” Vogelhuber said of Pyyhtia, a fourth-round pick for the Blue Jackets in 2020. “He took a stick up there and was in a little bit of pain because I think it did a little bit of teeth damage. We’re going to get him checked out just to be sure, but that can be pretty painful even if it’s not a long-term injury.”