Blue Jackets pile on early, route Blackhawks at home

Boone Jenner scored two first period goals, Zach Werenski collected four assists and the Columbus Blue Jackets blew out the Chicago Blackhawks 7-3 Wednesday night in Columbus, Ohio.

Erik Gudbranson, Cole Sillinger, Dmitri Voronkov, Kirill Marchenko and Patrik Laine also scored goals for the Blue Jackets. Marchenko, Sillinger and Adam Boqvist joined Jenner with two-point outings, while Elvis Merzlikins turned away 33 of 36 shots to earn the win in net.

No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard logged his 10th marker in 17 matches for Chicago. Jason Dickinson and Resse Johnson also scored, but it wasn't enough to keep the Blackhawks from falling for the 12th time in 17 contests.

Jenner initiated scoring at 2:57, jamming a rebound attempt by Petr Mrazek at the right post. Gudbranson upped the advantage to 2-0 with a slapper from the right circle at 6:46, followed by Jenner's 10th of the season on the power play at 13:55.

Bedard gave Chicago a little hope when he wired a snapper over the glove of Merzlikins at 15:41 to pull it within 3-1 after 20 minutes. But Columbus turned it into a slaughter with four second period markers for a 7-1 cushion.

Sillinger got his first goal of the season by tipping in Werenski's wrister at 7:32 of the second. That was followed by Voronkov's 3rd of the season into an empty net at 12:16, chasing Mrazek in favor of backup Arvid Soderblom.

But he couldn't stop the onslaught, either. Marchenko tapped in Boqvist's centering pass at 16:28, and Laine backhanded Adam Fantilli's perfect pass by Soderblom at the left post at 18:40 for a six-goal advantage.

Dickinson managed a rebound marker at 6:06 of the third period, his third of the season, and Donato capped the scoring at 18:41 with a wrister for his fourth tally.

Mrazek made 13 saves on 18 shots for the Blackhawks, and Soderblom stopped 6 of 8. It was their fifth consecutive loss; they have allowed 22 goals during the skid.

—Field Level Media