National Hockey League
Columbus 5, St. Louis 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, December 8, 2023
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Referees: Brandon Blandina, Brian Pochmara
Linesmen: Jesse Marquis, CJ Murray
Attendance: 15713

Jet Greaves made 41 saves in his second NHL start and first this season to help the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 5-2 win against the visiting St. Louis Blues on Friday night.

Yegor Chinakhov had two goals and an assist, Kirill Marchenko had a goal and an assist and Dmitri Voronkov added two assists for the Blue Jackets, who ended a three-game losing streak.

Robert Thomas scored both goals and Joel Hofer made 17 saves for the Blues, who have lost three of four.

Greaves, 22, earned the start after Spencer Martin started in goal against the New York Islanders on Thursday and took a 7-3 loss. Elvis Merzlikins is unavailable after he was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday due to an illness.

In his only other NHL start, Greaves set franchise records for saves (46) and shots faced (49) by a Columbus goalie making his NHL debut in a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 4.

The Blue Jackets grabbed an early 1-0 lead when Marchenko squeezed the puck through Hofer's pads from in close at 1:42 of the first period.

Greaves stopped the first nine shots before Thomas scored on a breakaway to tie it 1-1 at 14:36 of the first.

Columbus moved back ahead before the end of the period when Adam Fantilli scored off the rush to make it 2-1 at 17:01. Fantilli, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, has three goals and an assist in the past two games.

The Blue Jackets stretched the lead to 3-1 at 6:26 of the third period after Voronkov stole the puck in the St. Louis zone and led the rush the other way. He passed the puck to Marchenko, who fed Chinakhov for the redirection.

Chinakhov scored on a one-timer from the high slot while on a power play to extend the lead to 4-1 at 12:21.

Thomas scored from in close with Hofer pulled for the extra attacker to cut the lead to 4-2 with 2:22 left, but Alexandre Texier scored into an empty net with four seconds left to make it 5-2.

Columbus also played its third straight game without forward Patrik Laine and defenseman Erik Gudbranson because of illnesses.

Blue Jackets leading goal-scorer Boone Jenner did not return after getting hit in the face with a shot by teammate Ivan Provorov with 7:51 left in the second period.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
St. Louis   Columbus
Robert Thomas 2 Points Yegor Chinakhov 3
Robert Thomas 2 Goals Yegor Chinakhov 2
Pavel Buchnevich 1 Assists Dmitri Voronkov 2
N/A Power Play Goals Yegor Chinakhov 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Joel Hofer .810 Save Percentage Jet Greaves .953
Joel Hofer 17 Saves Jet Greaves 41
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
St. Louis 43 2 0-3 1-2 6 27
Columbus 22 5 1-2 3-3 8 34
Upcoming Games
  • Columbus will play their next game at home against Florida. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .222 after a win and .350 after a loss.
  • St. Louis will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Blues have a W/L % of .286 after a win and .750 after a loss.