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Theodore Bluger Photo: NHL
Last night in the National Hockey League (NHL), the Latvian striker Teodors Blugers beat the Columbia Blue Jackets, represented by goalkeeper Elvis Merzlikkin, 5: 2, winning their fourth consecutive victory and their eighth success in the last ten matches. The game turned out to be an unsuccessful for the Latvian national team striker Teodors Blugers, who was unable to stand out with productive actions tonight, thus terminating his series of four games with points. The Latvian stopped one result away from a new NHL career personal record.
PENG-WIN IN COLUMBUS!
…and a hat trick for Sidney Crosby. pic.twitter.com/Ub47SA5XMR
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 22, 2022
The two teams met for the first time this season, but had previously played two games in the pre-season stage. In the first duel, Columbus was superior to the guests with the result 3: 0, but in the second meeting with 4: 3 overtime, the Pittsburgh team celebrated the victory.
Jonas Korpisalo, Merzlikkin’s goal, went into the Blue Jackets goal tonight, repelling 26 of the 30 shots, or 86.7% of the show on his guard. In the NHL season, the Finnish goalkeeper has gone through 15 matches in the field, having dealt 88.2% of the throw and averaging 3.95 discs in the game. Merzlikin, on the other hand, watched the game from the reserve bench – Elvis guarded Columbus’ goal in yesterday’s match against the Philadelphia Flyers, so today the Latvian was given a rest.
Bluger, meanwhile, spent 13 minutes and 36 seconds on the ice, one minute and 34 seconds in the minority, during which no major statistic stood out. The Latvian did not take any throws on the opponents’ goal and did not use force techniques, but won 33% of the throws, as well as finished the match with a neutral efficiency (0).
Bluger broke his four-point winning streak tonight, staying one result away from a new NHL career personal record. The striker of the Latvian national team has scored one goal and three assists since the game with the Kings of Los Angeles on January 14. It is significant that Blugers has achieved a four-game success series four times in his NHL career, but the Latvian has not yet managed to score five games in a row. In the season, Blugers has gone through 39 matches in the field, with eight goals and nine assists.
The result of the match was revealed by Brian Dumolin, the defender of the Pittsburgh team, already in the 32nd second, but the two goals of the Columbus team followed, with Gustav Nickworth and Boon Gener sending the puck into the goal. The joy of the Blue Jackets did not last long, as Penguins leader Sydney Crossby reached the draw at the end of the period. In the second third, the teams exchanged rejections, but the goal was not scored.
The decisive events took place in the third period of the game – in favor of “Blue Jackets” with naked Max Domi was the scorer. The Penguins, on the other hand, scored three unanswered goals, celebrating victory throughout the match. In the final third in the Pittsburgh ranks, Michael Matthew and Sydney Crosby stood out, realizing the numerical majority and finally putting the puck in the empty Blue Jackets goal, making it to the hat-trick.
The Blue Jackets, with 37 points in 38 games, are fifth in the Metropolitan Division and 10th in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins, on the other hand, have gained momentum after a not-so-successful start to the season, finishing fifth in the same conference with 55 points in 40 matches.
The next match will be played by “Blue Jackets” represented by Merzlikkin tomorrow, January 24, at 01:00 Latvian time at home against Ottawa “Senators”. Meanwhile, Blugers and the Penguins tomorrow, January 23, at 20:00 Latvian time will host the Winnipeg “Jets” at home.
