Zach Werenski led the Blue Jackets with two goals on eight of 15 shots, but defensive errors in front of the net cost Columbus a 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 18.
The Wild, fresh off the blockbuster trade acquisition of star guard Quinn Hughes, are riding a five-game winning streak and beat the Blue Jackets in the third period at Nationwide Arena.
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Although he didn’t have an assist, Hughes got around the Jackets defense and drove the puck into the Wild’s top line. With 9:50 left in the game, Joel Eriksson Ek scored near the blue zone to give Minnesota a 3-2 lead.
Blue Jackets defender Zach Werenski scored two goals in a Dec. 18 loss to the Wild. The final score was 5-2.
“We can’t allow people to just slide to the net,” Evason said. “We have to get harder, tougher, greasier and more determined in these areas.”
That would prove to be the game-winner, as the Wild scored two goals in an empty net in Columbus with less than two minutes left in the game, sending most of the Blue Jackets fans home early.
“We played well enough to win, but it got old and we kept losing,” Werenski said. “I mean, enough is enough. It’s unacceptable… At the end of the day, it’s just outrageous. I mean, we’re a good hockey team, but we just lose games. So maybe we’re not a good hockey team; I don’t know.”
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The loss marked the first time in Werenski’s 10-year NHL career that he has scored multiple goals in back-to-back games. His first goal came at the end of a quiet first period when the Jackets took advantage of a low post in the Wild offensive zone. With the third line on the ice, Miles Wood took the puck away from Wild defenseman Brock Faber and found Cole Sillinger skating in the center of the ice with Wellenx behind him.
Charlie Coyle received the puck and made a perfect lateral pass to Werenski on the right side for the goal.
The Chargers maintained a better pace and offensive pressure than the Wild in the second period, but the Chargers’ momentum came to an abrupt halt in the shootout when Kiril Kaprizov found Ryan Hartman next to goaltender Jet Greaves for an easy push to tie the game. Greaves finished with 23 saves.
Three minutes later, the Wild broke through the top of the Blue Jackets’ offensive zone with a textbook triangle pass from the second line, leading to Vladimir Tarasenko’s goal.
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Werenski stole the puck from Tyler Pitlick near the mid-court line and turned on the afterburner to tie the game before the end of the second period.
The Blue Jackets now have a -23 goal differential in the third period.
“We wish we had more intensity in this area, but our efforts are there,” Evison said. “We’re not going to question that.”
With the latest defeat, the Jackets are back in the losing column after snapping a five-game losing streak on Dec. 16.
This article originally appeared in The Columbus Dispatch: Werenski scores two more goals in Columbus Blue Jackets’ 5-2 loss to Wild
