With most of the NHL breaking in preparation for All-Star Weekend, there were only two games on the schedule last night. Those two tilts only produced a combined total of three goals.
Dmitri Voronkov scored the game’s only goal 4:11 into the third period and Elvis Merzlikins posted a 21-save shutout as the Columbus Blue Jackets ended the St. Louis Blues five-game winning streak with a 1-0 road victory at Enterprise Center. It was the Blue Jackets first shutout since early 2022.
In the nightcap, the San Jose Sharks blanked the Seattle Kraken by a 2-0 count at SAP Center. Marc-Edouard Vlasic notched the game-winner 7:27 into the third and Jan Rutta iced it with an empty-netter with 21 seconds left on the clock. William Eklund assisted on both goals and MacKenzie Blackwood made 32 saves for the Sharks.
Four additional members of 2018 Canadian World Junior Championship team Carter Hart (Philadelphia Flyers), Dillion Dube (Calgary Flames), Cal Foote (New Jersey Devils) and Michael McLeod (New Jersey Devils) have been charged with sexual assault by police in London, Ontario. Former Ottawa Senator Alex Formenton, who has been playing for HC Ambrì-Piotta in Switzerland, was charged earlier in the week. (Sportsnet has more)
The Charlotte Checkers will look to halt a season-long five-game losing streak when they take on the Hartford Wolf Pack tonight at XL Center at 7 p.m. to conclude a four-game road trip. Defenseman Lucas Carlsson leads the Checkers in goals (12) and points (28).