Charlie Coyle put on a show Friday night, notching his second career hat trick and powering the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. With the victory, Columbus extended its red-hot run to four straight wins and eight in their last nine games (8-0-1). The Blue Jackets are rolling-and Coyle is right at the heart of it.
Let’s start with the man of the night. Coyle was everywhere, finishing with three goals and an assist, including a key setup on Mathieu Olivier’s tally that turned out to be the game-winner.
That assist came early in the second period, giving Columbus a 3-1 cushion just 6:47 into the frame. It was a textbook example of a veteran forward dictating the pace and flow of a game.
Coyle’s offensive tear continues to heat up-he now has five goals and nine points in his last three games. He opened the scoring late in the first period with a power-play goal, slipping behind the defense and finishing from close range with 47 seconds left.
Then, just 1:23 into the second, he struck again-this time with a laser over Spencer Knight’s glove. He capped the hat trick with an empty-netter in the final moments, sealing the win with 1:03 left on the clock.
On the other side, Connor Bedard did what he could to keep Chicago in it. The rookie phenom ripped a wrist shot past Elvis Merzlikins with just 2.7 seconds left in the first to cut into Columbus' early lead.
Then, he showed off his elite vision, setting up Frank Nazar with a crisp feed on a 3-on-2 rush midway through the second. Nazar buried it from 25 feet out, pulling the Blackhawks within one.
But that was as close as Chicago would get. Merzlikins stood tall, turning away 22 shots, and Columbus’ penalty kill stayed perfect, holding the Blackhawks scoreless on two power-play chances.
That extends Chicago’s power-play drought to 10 games and 26 straight opportunities without a goal. Their last success with the man advantage came back on January 10 in Nashville.
It wasn’t just the special teams that struggled for Chicago. Defensive lapses continued to haunt them.
Ahead of the game, the team made a notable roster move, calling up defenseman Sam Rinzel from Rockford and sitting Artyom Levshunov. Levshunov had been a minus-5 in Thursday’s 6-2 loss to Pittsburgh and is minus-11 over his last eight games.
The Blackhawks clearly needed a shakeup on the blue line, but it wasn’t enough to slow down a surging Columbus squad.
With the win, the Blue Jackets keep their momentum going as they head to St. Louis for the second night of a back-to-back. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, will try to regroup before hosting San Jose on Monday.