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Columbus Blue Jackets TKO Calgary Flames on a fight filled afternoon
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- Columbus Blue Jackets TKO Calgary Flames on a fight filled afternoon
Black Friday became a black and blue Friday afternoon at Nationwide Arena, where the Blue Jackets got back to winning with a raucous, fight-filled 5-2 victory over the Calgary Flames .
Four of the Blue Jackets' five goals were scored by guys who played at the University of Michigan, a school whose football team visits Columbus on Saturday for the annual Ohio State-Michigan feud , but the pro-Buckeye crowd didn't care until Adam Fantilli said this during his postgame bench interview: "I love Ohio, but Go Blue tomorrow."
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That drew boo birds, not surprisingly, but emotions for the Blue Jackets ran high most of the afternoon among the 17,035 in attendance. Fantilli led the charge with two goals, which were sandwiched around goals from Kent Johnson and Zach Werenski to help the Blue Jackets (10-9-3) build a 4-1 lead early in the third period.
Kirill Marchenko scored the fifth into an empty net to seal it.
"Like I said last year, when we went on a bit of a losing skid, you never want to get used to losing," Fantilli said. "Having a bit of a winning culture in here, and with how much fun we have with each other and how tight of a group we have, it makes it way more enjoyable to come to the rink every day."
Columbus Blue Jackets left wing James van Riemsdyk (21) celebrates his goal with Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli (19) against Calgary Flames during the first period of the NHL game at Nationwide Arena on Nov. 29, 2024.
Blake Coleman and Nazem Kadri scored goals for the Flames (12-8-4), who lost their third straight game. Elvis Merzlikins started in net for the Blue Jackets, improving to 7-5-2 with 27 saves. Dustin Wolf took the loss for the Flames.
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"It's nice," Merzlikins said of the game's intensity. "It's fire. They're a good team. They're physical and we are standing there. We are going to protect each other, and that's what we did, and I think it was super fun today."
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) tries to make a save on a Calgary Flames left wing Ryan Lomberg (70) shot during the second period of the NHL game at Nationwide Arena on Nov. 29, 2024.
Columbus controlled the first period, taking a 2-0 lead into the first intermission on goals by Fantilli and Johnson.
Fantilli scored with a wrister from the left-wing circle just as a power play expired at 11:56, his fourth goal of the season, and Johnson made it 2-0 by netting his fifth goal of the season almost five minutes later to cap a 3-on-1 rush.
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The Blue Jackets, who outshot the Flames 34-29 for the game, built a 16-10 edge in shots through the first period and held a 26-18 edge in attempts going into the first intermission. Each team scored a goal in the second, but they were overshadowed by extracurricular action that included three fights.
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jake Christiansen (2) and Calgary Flames center Martin Pospisil (76) fight during the second period of the NHL game at Nationwide Arena on Nov. 29, 2024.
Jake Christiansen was forced to fight after leveling Andrei Kuzmenko with a great check to break up a scoring chance inside the Columbus blue line, prompting a bare knuckle confrontation with Martin Pospisil . Mathieu Olivier then got into two fights for the Blue Jackets after he boarded Calgary's Joel Hanley with 8:06 left in the period.
Pospisil went after him following the hit, taking the brunt of Olivier's fists until Calgary defenseman Brayden Pachal entered the fray to hold the Blue Jackets forward's arms while his teammate landed free punches. Pachal was penalized for roughing, but wasn't ejected for being a third man into a fight.
Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Mathieu Olivier (24) and Calgary Flames center Martin Pospisil (76) fight during the second period of the NHL game at Nationwide Arena on Nov. 29, 2024.
Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason was not thrilled with the way referees Brandon Blandina and Carter Sandlak handled it.
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"It's so dangerous," Evason said. "We asked. They stated that it wasn't enough to give a third man in (ejection). If you watch it, 'Ollie' gets his arm tied up and takes two solid punches to the face that he cannot defend himself (from). His arm is locked, so he takes two off his face. It's so dangerous. It's crazy."
After serving his portion of those penalties, Olivier then got into another scrap with Ryan Lomberg after getting challenged prior to a faceoff with 23 seconds left in the period. He won that tilt with ease, knocking Lomberg's helmet off while landing numerous punches that made the Flames forwards' hair whip around like a 1980s hair band music video.
Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Mathieu Olivier (24) heads off the ice after fighting Calgary Flames left wing Ryan Lomberg (70) during the second period of the NHL game at Nationwide Arena on Nov. 29, 2024. It was his second fight of the period for Olivier.
Olivier left the ice pumping his arms, which brought the crowd to a roar and set the stage for the third.
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"I don't know if you'd call that a good time, but it was definitely entertaining for the fans," Olivier said. "The game just kind of developed that way. I threw a hit that I didn't think was that bad at the time. Looked at it. Kind of questionable, so it kind of just derived from there. You've got to be ready to answer the bell when that happens."
Merzlikins answered two bells in the third, so to speak. A poke from MacKenzie Weegar between his legs, where he had the puck covered, set off the Blue Jackets goalie. He went after Weeger, was penalized for roughing and two minutes later watched Fantilli step out of the penalty box after serving the penalty into a 2-on-1 rush with Kirill Marchenko.
Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli (19) celebrates after scoring a goal against Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf (32) during the third period of the NHL game at Nationwide Arena on Nov. 29, 2024.
A perfect feed from Marcheko to Fantilli's stick made it 4-1 at 4:46 of the third, which made Kadri's goal for the Flames with 9:00 left a moot point.
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"We're definitely going in the right direction," Olivier said. "We're still missing some big pieces, but everyone that's playing is doing a really good job. We've just got to find ways to win every night, and that's what we're doing right now."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets douse Calgary Flames in a raucous matchup
