Damon Severson's scrap, Ivan Provorov's short-handed goal help Blue Jackets steal a point

New York Times

07-02-2025

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It wasn't Damon Severson's intent to send a jolt up and down the Columbus Blue Jackets' bench. He didn't mean to bring life to an above-capacity crowd in Nationwide Arena, which had spent most of its energy to that point booing NHL referees.
But when Severson, a veteran defenseman, stepped in for a fight after watching teammate Mikael Pyyhtiä get blasted along the wall, it delivered all of that and more.
Advertisement
It feels like the Blue Jackets are just holding on as they play their way to a much-needed two-week break for the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off. Riddled by injuries, they need every player in the lineup to empty their tanks and take on new roles just to stay afloat.
Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Hockey Club was a clear example. No, the Blue Jackets weren't happy getting one point instead of two. But with all things considered, it's a pretty good point.
Justin Danforth and Ivan Provorov scored goals for the Blue Jackets, while goaltender Elvis Merzlikins had 30 saves before allowing a goal with just 33 seconds left in overtime to Utah's Dylan Guenther, who finished a breakaway by scoring off his own rebound.
'The players aren't stupid,' Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. 'They understand where they're at, and whatever role we've asked a player to play, whether it's elevated or not, they're just competing and they're playing hard every night.
'That's why we're in these games. Even the ones like tonight when we lose, we're battling. It's a credit to all the guys stepping on the ice.'
The Blue Jackets, just back from a four-game, four-time-zone road trip, could not get going for most of two periods. Part of that was fatigue, surely, but they're also trying to get by without two-thirds of their top forward line and half of their top defensive pair, among other injuries.
Defenseman Zach Werenski, who missed Tuesday's game in Buffalo, returned, but he's not playing at 100 percent. He did, however, have a second-period assist to become only the fourth defenseman in NHL history to score at least a point in 20 straight home games.
The Blue Jackets trailed 2-1 well into the second, but that's when Severson helped turn things around.
At 17:26 of the second, Utah's Michael Kesselring blasted Blue Jackets forward Mikael Pyyhtiä as he battled for a puck along the wall in the Columbus zone. Severson, standing nearby, skated a straight path toward Kesselring to challenge him.
Advertisement
'I'm not a huge believer in there having to be a fight after every hit, by any means,' Severson said. 'I just felt like that was one of those plays … I don't want to say it was a blindside, but (Pyyhtiä) wasn't expecting it, just the way he was turned. He was in a vulnerable spot for sure.
'I had a chance to step up for a teammate there. We didn't have our best in the early going, so obviously that's going to help out. You make a split decision on the ice.'
Severson handled himself well against Kesselring, glancing Kesselring's chin with a wild right before his momentum carried him to the ice.
The Blue Jackets were irate that Severson — not Kesselring — was given an additional roughing penalty in addition to the offsetting fighting majors, putting Columbus on the penalty kill.
'I don't know why we killed,' Evason said. 'That's what you want a guy to do, go over and grab the guy and see if the guy wants to fight, and then they fight. I don't know why the roughing was called.'
It worked out OK. Actually, quite well.
PROVY TIES IT ON THE PK!💥@FanaticsBook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/T8FTSOBFQx
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) February 7, 2025
Near the end of the kill, Provorov skated the puck out of the zone and, finding no resistance, carried the puck the length of the ice. As he entered the right circle, he let loose a wrister that beat Utah goaltender Connor Ingram to the near post, tying the game at two.
'We didn't really agree with the call,' Provorov said. 'It should have just been even strength. But anytime you get a penalty when somebody is defending a teammate, we're going to kill that one and we're going to battle extra hard. I saw an opportunity to jump up and make a play.'
In Provorov's 669-game NHL career, that was his first short-handed goal.
'I'll take em' any way I can,' he said.
Advertisement
For most of the third period, the Blue Jackets seemed intent on simply playing for OT and the standings point it would provide. They dragged it there, thanks to a penalty kill for the final 1:22 of regulation after Werenski went off for tripping.
It's quite something to see the line combos and situational player usage Evason and his staff have turned to with center Sean Monahan, right winger Kirill Marchenko and defenseman Dante Fabbro out of the lineup. Those are just the recent losses.
Luca Del Bel Belluz, who spent the first three months of the season with AHL Cleveland, is the second-line center. Del Bel Belluz and Mathieu Olivier, already playing higher in an NHL lineup than ever (third line), are on the second power-play unit.
When Guenther scored the overtime winner, the Blue Jackets had third- and fourth-line grinders Justin Danforth and Sean Kuraly on the ice with Provorov.
'It's easy to go, 'Ah, well, we're missing these guys and we don't have the depth and we're elevating' … and all this stuff,' Evason said. 'But it's exciting, too, right? Guys are stepping up in different roles and thriving in it, and that's exciting for us as an organization and exciting for us as coaches.
'To kill a penalty like that at the end, and the adversity we went through … we can put this in our memory bank. Maybe we don't have our best stuff. Maybe we don't have some people. But we know how to play in a way where we give ourselves a chance.'
(Photo of Damon Severson and Michael Kesselring: Russell LaBounty / Imagn Images)