The Columbus Blue Jackets moved to 38-24-11 with 2 points as the San Jose Sharks improved to 33-31-7 with 3 points in a 3-2 result at Nationwide Arena.
First period
The Columbus Blue Jackets opened the scoring with 1 goal in the first period while the San Jose Sharks answered with 1 goal in the first period.
The Jackets finished the period leaning on puck detail with 6 takeaways against 12 giveaways in the game data.
Second period
The Blue Jackets took a 2-1 edge in the second period when they scored 1 goal while the Sharks scored 0 in the period.
Denton Mateychuk had 1 goal on 1 shot for a 100 shooting percent line, and
Adam Fantilli added 1 assist on 2 shots in the Columbus bench’s limited scoring ledger.
Columbus went 0-for-1 on the power play with 1 shot, while San Jose later finished 1-for-2 with 2 shots on its power play.
Elvis Merzlikins kept the Jackets close with 33 saves on 36 shots, and the Columbus Blue Jackets post-match stats also showed 31 faceoffs won on 59 draws for a 52 percent rate.
Third period
San Jose swung the game in the third period with 2 goals while Columbus scored 0 in the period, and the Sharks finished with 36 shots to the Jackets’ 24.
The Sharks’ special teams edge included 1 power-play goal, and Columbus finished with 2 minor penalties for 4 penalty minutes as San Jose took 1 minor penalty for 2 penalty minutes.
San Jose logged 25 giveaways and 16 hits, while Columbus posted 17 hits and 11 blocked shots in what went wrong for Columbus Blue Jackets as the push for a tying goal did not land.
Post-game notes
Igor Chernyshov was listed as the first star for the Sharks, Merzlikins was the second star for the Jackets, and Macklin Celebrini was the third star for San Jose in the official three-star listing.
In the post-game report Columbus Blue Jackets, the Jackets’ even-strength offense produced both goals while the Sharks scored 2 even-strength goals and 1 on the power play.
The post-game thoughts Columbus Blue Jackets also point to shot volume, as San Jose missed 15 shots and Columbus missed 11 in a game that ended with 18,874 in attendance.
The Blue Jackets will be back at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on 3/29/2026 at 5:00 PM EDT with a broadcast on ESPN+, NESN, and FDSOH against the Boston Bruins.
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