Werenski Finds a Way as Blue Jackets Edge Stars 2-1
Columbus beat Dallas 2-1, and almost nothing separated the two teams. The chances were nearly identical. The difference came down to who finished and which goalie blinked.
The Stars had expected goals of 3.19, a measure of how much their chances were worth. The Blue Jackets were at 3.08. Each side was good for about three goals, and each scored far fewer. Shot attempts split almost exactly down the middle, and Columbus outshot Dallas 30-28.
The goalies were the reason the scoring stayed low. Casey DeSmith stopped 29 of 30 for Dallas. Cam Talbot turned aside 27 of 28 for Columbus.
The posts got involved too. Jason Robertson rang iron for Dallas, and so did Zach Werenski. Werenski also scored on five shots in 29:21 of ice time. Mikko Rantanen answered for the Stars, but in a game this even, Columbus got the bounce that counted.
