COLUMBUS, Ohio — It has seemed inevitable for weeks now that Kirill Marchenko would own the Blue Jackets’ rookie goal-scoring mark before this season ends. But he found a memorable way to stamp his name in the record books Sunday.
Marchenko scored only 16 seconds into overtime before a soldout crowd of 18,872 in Nationwide Arena to give the Blue Jackets a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators, his 21st goal of the season, but also his first overtime goal and his first game-winning goal.
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“It’s very cool,” Marchenko said. “I’m very happy to score the 21st goal here in front of our fans. On (a) trip it’s not as fun, but here with our fans it is special.”
Marchenko also assisted on Boone Jenner’s tying goal with 5:49 remaining in the third period after they’d trailed since late in the first period.
It was a devastating loss for Ottawa, which is barely hanging on to playoff hopes in the Eastern Conference.
It lost to a Blue Jackets club that dressed only six NHL veterans in its lineup and started a goaltender (Jon Gillies) who hadn’t played in the league since last season. A whopping 12 of the 18 players have played in fewer than 100 NHL games.
But Senators center Tim Stützle coughed up the puck deep in his own end in overtime. Johnny Gaudreau gathered it and fed Marchenko low in the right circle for a wrister past goaltender Cam Talbot.
Franchise leader in rookie scoring with 21 goals ✅
Overtime winner in just 16 seconds ✅Kirill Marchenko scores the @SUBWAYCanada OT winner for the Blue Jackets! pic.twitter.com/RQbDV27mln
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 3, 2023
Marchenko, who spent the last three seasons playing in Russia’s KHL, was mobbed by his teammates along the glass. The previous record was 20 goals in 2017-18 by center Pierre-Luc Dubois.
“It’s the best league in the world,” Marchenko said of the NHL. “I’m very excited to play here. I want to play more years here. The best players in the world play here (in the NHL). It’s great for me, it’s like a dream.”
The Blue Jackets lost 7-0 to Florida with virtually the same lineup just 24 hours earlier. The only difference was that Gillies, acquired at the trade deadline, made his first NHL start since late last season, replacing Michael Hutchinson in the lineup.
“We got down, but I liked how we settled in,” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. “There was some compete out there. Guys were pushing.”
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It may have been a devastating win for the Blue Jackets, too, with only six games remaining in the season.
The Blue Jackets were tied with Chicago for the worst record in the NHL, but climbed two places to 30th, ahead of the Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks. In doing so, the Blue Jackets have dramatically reduced their chances of winning the NHL lottery.
The last-place club has a 25.5 percent chance of winning the No. 1 pick, which will almost certainly be spent on Canadian star junior player Connor Bedard. In 30th place, the Jackets have just an 11.5 percent chance to win the first pick, but they could also slide as far as fifth in the first round.
The lottery will be held May 8.
If you were late taking your seat in Nationwide on Sunday, you missed most of the action. It was 2-1 Blue Jackets only 4:05 into the game.
The Blue Jackets got goals from rookie Kent Johnson (2:41) and Eric Robinson (4:05) early in the first period to take the 2-1 lead.
Ottawa scored twice more before the first period was finished to take a 3-2 lead, but it was the 2-2 goal at 9:26 of the second period that was most noteworthy … and a touch comedic.
Klev drops the HAMMER and Kasty pots the rebound 🚨#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/cY6bKad5SV
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) April 2, 2023
Gillies was getting settled back into his net after dropping to make a save when his left skate kicked one of his posts.
“I went to step down and … nothing there,” Gillies said. The skate blade had fallen clean off his left skate, and he nearly fell to the ice before grabbing the crossbar to hold himself up. He looked like a learn-to-skate kid.
With only one working skate, he spun around to make a stop, but the rebound kicked to Mark Kastelic, who pounded it into the net.
“It was kind of funny actually,” Gillies said. “It’s unfortunate that it went in, but stuff happens.”
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Larsen, from his perch on the Blue Jackets bench, wasn’t exactly sure what he was witnessing. He knew Gillies hadn’t played in the NHL for almost a full year, but … seriously, was he that rusty?
“Watching him throw himself in the net, I was like ‘What is going on?'” Larsen said. “I was actually happy to see the blade was off because I knew he hadn’t played in a while, but … that was actually comforting.
“But then when I saw the blade was off, it was like, ‘Did that really just happen?'”
With the Jackets down 3-2, Marchenko drove hard to the net and got upended by Ottawa’s Artem Zub, sending him sprawling. The puck kicked back higher in the zone just as Jenner came on the ice from the bench, allowing him to step into a one-timer.
Jenner has a team-leading 26 goals.
“Those are the ones you really want to cash in on,” Jenner said. “It just popped right out to me. I was able to lay into it pretty good there.”
The Blue Jackets confirmed late Sunday that they’ll have a second first-round draft pick this summer for the third straight draft. The Los Angeles Kings clinched a playoff spot with a win over Vancouver, settling the trade the Blue Jackets and Kings made March 2.
The Kings traded a conditional first-round pick to the Blue Jackets in the deal that sent defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to Los Angeles. The first-round pick went to Columbus as long as the Kings made the playoffs.
(Photo: Jason Mowry / USA Today)
