Adam Fantilli was impressive in his NHL debut, but the Blue Jackets couldn’t get the star rookie a season-opening win on his 19th birthday.
The Philadelphia Flyers edged the Jackets 4-2 at sold out Nationwide Arena on Thursday night to give former Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella and forward Cam Atkinson another victorious return.
Travis Konecny scored two goals to lead the Flyers (1-0-0), including an empty-net goal before the final horn. Joel Farabee scored the game’s first goal for the Flyers, who got an empty-net goal by Atkinson with 1:29 left in the third that held up as the winner.
Jake Bean and Patrik Laine scored for the Blue Jackets (0-1-0), who got Fantilli’s first NHL point with an assist on Bean’s goal plus a 33-save performance by goalie Elvis Merzlikins.
The Flyers (1-0-0) scored first to take a 1-0 lead 3:33 into the game after a Blue Jackets turnover at the Philadelphia blue line turned into a 2-on-0. Sean Couturier fed a cross-ice pass to Farabee for an easy goal.
Bean tied it 1-1 at 8:24 of the first by scooping a loose rebound of Fantilli’s shot and beating Hart to the far side. Konecny’s first goal, scored at 12:43 of the first, gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead that held up until Atkinson made it 3-1 late in the third. Laine’s goal cut it to 3-2 and Konecny’s second of the game produced the game’s final score less than a second before the final horn.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs Philadelphia Flyers: play of the game
Konecny made the Blue Jackets pay for a turnover by Patrik Laine in the Philadelphia zone. Laine’s drop pass went straight to a Flyers defender, who pushed the puck up the ice. Konecny got it in the left circle and fired it past Merzlikins’ glove inside the right post for the eventual winning goal.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs Philadelphia Flyers: three stars
First star
Carter Hart, G, Flyers
Hart earned the win with 31 saves on 33 shots, including 14 of 15 in the first period.
Second star
Elvis Merzlikins, G, Blue Jackets
Merzlikins had a tough start having to face a 2-on-0 on Farabee’s goal before allowing Konecny’s first of the game. The Jackets’ goalie didn’t yield another goal the rest of the game while making 33 saves on 35 shots.
Third star
Travis Konecny, RW, Flyers
Konecny netted two goals and led the Flyers with five shots on goal.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs Philadelphia Flyers: notes
– Werenski left the game with 5:38 left in the second period and didn’t return after Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway carried out a knee-on-knee hit behind the Blue Jackets net. Werenski sustained a contusion in his right quad muscle. Last year, he sustained a season-ending shoulder injury against the Flyers and only played 13 games. That injury also occurred at Nationwide Arena after a Flyers player avoided Werenski’s hit and led to an awkward fall into the boards.
– Fantilli’s day began with a text message from Wayne Gretzky welcoming him to the NHL on his 19th birthday. Fantilli also notched his first career point with an assist on Bean’s goal in the first period. Fantilli became the eighth youngest player in Blue Jackets history to make his NHL debut.
– Bean’s goal was his first in 357 days after missing most of last season with a shoulder injury that required surgery. His previous goal was scored Oct. 20, 2022 in Columbus against the Nashville Predators.
– Justin Danforth also returned from a shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery last season. A day after signing a $1.1 million contract extension through next season, the undersized forward skated on Fantilli’s line at right wing.
– The game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 18,614 at Nationwide Arena.
Columbus Blue Jackets lineup vs Philadelphia Flyers
Forwards
Johnny Gaudreau – Patrik Laine – Cole Sillinger
Alexandre Texier – Boone Jenner – Emil Bemstrom
Kirill Marchenko – Adam Fantilli – Justin Danforth
Eric Robinson – Sean Kuraly – Jack Roslovic
Defensemen
Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson
Zach Werenski – Andrew Peeke
Jake Bean – Erik Gudbranson
Goalies
Elvis Merzlikins
Scott Martin
Injured: Mathieu Olivier (leg), Yegor Chinakhov (back), Daniil Tarasov (knee), Jordan Dumais (upper body)
Scratched: Kent Johnson, Adam Boqvist, Liam Foudy
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets edged by Flyers in Fantilli’s NHL debut
