By Joe Coopersmith

GAME AT A GLANCE

THREE STARS 1^st – D. Tarasov, CBJ (stopped 39-of-41 shots faced, W); 2^nd – A. Nylander, CBJ (2-1-3); 3^rd – J. Gaudreau, CBJ (1-2-3, GWG)

GOAL SCORERS
Columbus: B. Jenner (21), A. Nylander (7), J. Gaudreau (11), EN – A. Nylander (8)

San Jose:  F. Zetterlund (18), H. Thrun (2)

GOALTENDERS
Columbus: D. Tarasov (39 saves, W)
San Jose: M. Chrona (16 saves, L)

SPECIAL TEAMS
Columbus PP:  0-for-1, 1 shot
San Jose PP:  0-for-3, 6 shots

BLUE JACKETS TEAM NOTES

• The Blue Jackets, who have collected points in consecutive contests (1-0-1), improved to 4-3-1 in the last eight games and 7-7-1 in the past 15 contests following tonight’s victory over the Sharks.
• CBJ have won four-straight vs. San Jose and have recorded points in 15 of the last 23 games of the series since Feb. 6, 2015 (12-8-3).
• Columbus has won three-straight and four of the last five games in the series at Nationwide Arena.
• The winning team has scored four-plus goals in eight of the last 11 meetings overall.
• Columbus killed off all three Sharks’ power play opportunities tonight and has now killed off 31 of the past 36 opponent power play chances over the last 13 games (86.1 pct.)
• CBJ blueliners posted 0-2-2 tonight and have now recorded 13-45-58 in the last 29 games and 26-121-147 in 67 games this season.
• The Blue Jackets blocked 19 shots tonight and have now blocked 954 shots over the past 56 games dating back to Nov. 6 and 1,163 this season.
• CBJ have scored the first goal of the games in 26 of the last 48 contests, including eight of the last 13.
• The Blue Jackets scored one goal in the first period tonight and have now recorded 65 first period goals this season.
• The club has averaged 3.13 goals over the past eight contests (25 goals total).
• Columbus plays its 11^th of 13^th back-to-back sets this season on Saturday vs. San Jose and Sunday vs. Winnipeg. It’s the only home-home back-to-back set of the campaign for the club. The team improved to 8-10-3 in back-to-back sets this season (4-6-1 first game; 4-4-2 second game).

BLUE JACKETS PLAYER NOTES_­

• RW Alex Nylander recorded his second career NHL three-point game with two goals and one assist (also 3-0-3 on Mar.4, 2024 vs. Vegas) to give him points in two consecutive contests (3-1-4). He has notched 8-3-11 to average one-point-per-game through his first 11 contests with the Blue Jackets.  The last player to record at least eight goals through their first 11 games with a franchise was Elias Petterson (10 goals in 11 GP in 2018-19 w/ VAN).
• LW Johnny Gaudreau notched his fourth three-point effort and 13^th multi-point outing of the season with 1-2-3, giving him points in two consecutive outings (1-4-5) and 13 of his last 20 games (4-17-21). He now has collected 13-22-35 in 34 career outings against the Sharks, including multiple points in each of his last six contests (5-11-16) and points in each of his past seven games (6-11-17) as well as points in eight of his past ten home outings against the club (9-6-15).
• C Boone Jenner recorded his seventh multi-point game of the season with one goal and one assist to give him points in two consecutive games (2-1-3) and 8-6-14 in his past 17 contests. He improved to 10-5-15 in 18 career games against the Sharks, including goals in each of his last four appearances vs. the Sharks (5-0-5) as well as points in eight of 10 career home games against the club (5-4-9).
• D Ivan Provorov tallied an assist to give him 0-3-3 in his past seven contests (overall, 5-24-29 in 67 GP).  He’s tied his single-season career high after also collecting 24 assists in 2016-17 (82 GP) and 2017-18 (82 GP) with Philadelphia.  He improved to 2-4-6 in 13 career games vs. the Sharks, including assists in his past three appearances against San Jose.
• D Damon Severson recorded an assist and has now posted 5-10-15 over his last 36 outings (overall, 6-14-20 in 52 GP).
• G Daniil Tarasov stopped 39-of-41 shots faced tonight and set a new career best with a shutout streak of 101:44 before allowing a second period goal to Fabian Zetterlund.  The streak started in the third period of the Nashville game on Mar. 9.  He has allowed two goals in each of his last three starts and has compiled a 1.55 GAA and .957 SV% (134-of-140) since Mar. 7.

BLUE JACKETS POST-GAME AUDIO INTERVIEWS

HC Pascal Vincent | F Johnny Gaudreau | F Alex Nylander | G Daniil Tarasov

SHARKS POST-GAME AUDIO INTERVIEWS

HC David Quinn | G Magnus Chrona | F Fabian Zetterlund

COURTESY BLUE JACKETS COMMUNICATIONS