SvoNotes: Berube's night to remember pushes Jackets to win

There isn't a lot of spare time for the starting goalie during pregame warmups, but Jean-Francois Berube found a second or two.
Before he skated in his first NHL game in almost four years, Berube stepped away from the barrage of pucks sent toward the netminder before the game and headed to the Zamboni tunnel at Nationwide Arena. There, he shared a moment through the glass with his wife, Michelle, and their 19-month-old son Cayden before heading back to the crease.

In the three hours that followed, Berube made a memory that will stand the test of time for the family. The 30-year-old goalie stopped 33 shots on goal to help lead the Blue Jackets to a 7-3 win over Buffalo in front of a packed house Sunday night in Nationwide Arena, the team's seventh win in the past nine games.
It meant a lot to the Blue Jackets, who refuse to go away on the periphery of the Eastern Conference playoff race. It meant a lot to Berube, who now has 35 NHL games and 10 wins at the highest level on his resume.

But for the Berube family, well, you can imagine that game puck will have a special place in their collection down the road.
"It was pretty amazing to see my son in warmup looking at me," he said. "It was maybe his second or third live game. I could see his eyes full of stars, and I can see myself in him, too. So yeah, it was really cool to share this moment with him and my wife.
"Unfortunately with COVID he wasn't able to come to too many games (before this), but he was there tonight, and this one is for him."

It took some time for Berube, a member of the organization in 2018-19 who was re-signed before this season to help fill the pipes with AHL Cleveland and help the team's younger goalies along, to work his way into the game.
Columbus controlled the opening minutes, keeping the Sabres to just one shot on goal in the first 15 minutes of action. It was what you'd want to see out of a team rallying in front of its netminder, but it also made it a bit tough for Berube to get into the game.
"When it's been a while since you've been in, I think you want to see the puck as soon as possible," he said. "But I tried getting myself involved as much as I could by playing pucks behind the net, and I think that slowly got me into the game and feeling the game and picking up the pace."
Unfortunately for Berube -- who was pressed into action by the lower-body injuries of goalies Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo, as well as the lingering injury to Daniil Tarasov -- things then came a bit fast and furious. Buffalo's second on goal shot of the game 15:05 into the contest was a deflection that went right to Mark Pysyk in front, and the defenseman quickly fired past Berube to tie the game at 1.
Buffalo then took a 2-1 lead in the minutes that followed as a turnover allowed Tage Thompson to rip a shot past Berube for his fifth point of the season against Columbus in three games.
But the Blue Jackets responded, building a 5-2 lead, and Berube's best work followed. In the eyes of head coach Brad Larsen, his best save came with Columbus up 4-2 in the second, as Thompson was set up on an odd-man rush and ripped a shot that the veteran netminder turned aside.
Buffalo then put 18 shots on goal in the third period and he turned them all aside, though many of them were from the outside of the best scoring areas. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Sabres had just one high-danger scoring chance in nearly 18 minutes of 5-on-5 play in the third, and Berube was quick to credit his teammates postgame for helping him bring the lead home.
"I think we expected them to come up with a push, but I think we responded well," Berube said. "To be honest, I saw most of the pucks. The (defensemen) and forwards were doing a good job of making sure I could see those pucks. Lots of shots were coming from the outside. I just wanted to control my rebounds and make sure there were no juicy rebounds in front of the net."
When all was said and done, the Quebec native received a game puck in the CBJ locker room postgame.

"We're pumped for him," captain Boone Jenner said. "He deserves it. He works so hard every day, and whenever he comes up he's out there working with a smile on his face. Obviously, this means a lot to him getting back in the pipes. It's been a while. So he played outstanding, kept us in it. I'm really happy for him."
Time will tell if Berube, an 11-year AHL veteran, will make another start in net. The Blue Jackets next play Tuesday at home vs. Toronto, and Larsen said pregame that both Merzlikins and Korpisalo are day-to-day.
That bridge will get crossed in the coming days, but for one night, everything came up roses for Berube and his family.
"That's why I play hockey is to be here," he said of the NHL level. "A lot of emotions. I have been through some tough times, and I always kept my eyes where I wanted to be. That just pushed me, and I feel fortunate to have had good coaches, good teammates that pushed me every day. I owe a lot to the people that have supported me all those years and keeping pushing me, and it means a lot to me."

Kukan, Gaunce Step Up

Berube was named the third star of the game, and the two players that finished above him are also not exactly used to taking the postgame twirl in Nationwide Arena as the organ music plays.
The No. 1 star was Dean Kukan, a defenseman who entered the game with three goals in 128 NHL games but finished with two on this night. And the No. 2 star was Brendan Gaunce, a veteran forward who much like Berube has spent much of his career in the AHL but finished with his first career three-point night at the NHL level.
It's a testament to the groove the Blue Jackets find themselves in that on a night where both Jenner and Patrik Laine also had multipoint nights and the team got goals from stalwarts like Gus Nyquist and Zach Werenski, the biggest standouts on the night came from down in the lineup.
"Whenever you get contributions throughout the lineup, that's huge," Larsen said. "It helps everybody. It's infectious. It gives everybody energy and juice. It was a good night for that tonight for sure.
"You're happy for them because rarely do they get a lot of recognition, or impact the score sheet as much as your top guys. I think the guys were happy for all of them."
Kukan finished with two goals and three points, both career highs. He got the scoring started 4:47 into the first period with a nifty finish, as Buffalo goalie Craig Anderson made impressive stops on both Sean Kuraly and Yegor Chinakhov before Kukan wristed a perfect top-shelf finish past him on the third try.

Then Kukan broke a 2-2 tie and gave Columbus the lead for good just 3:28 into the second period, as his wrist shot from the blue line sailed through a screen and into the net behind the befuddled Anderson. The Swiss defenseman has been in and out of the lineup all season but has cemented himself of late, as while his poise and craftiness on the puck have never been doubted, confidence and consistency have come along in recent games.
"It was a really fun game," he said. "It's not every night I score two goals or even score, so I think it was a really fun game. We also got a good win. It was a fun night for all of us. … Personally I think I'm getting more comfortable with the puck, more confidence and trying to make plays out there. Just keep using my legs and it's been good the last few games."
Gaunce, meanwhile, signed a contract with the Blue Jackets before this season that figured to put him in an AHL role. A first-round pick in 2012, he had six goals in 118 NHL games before this year, then led the Monsters in goals and points before being called up after the All-Star break.
He got his first CBJ goal Feb. 10 at Buffalo in his second game, then added another tonight in his sixth contest when he gave Columbus a 4-2 lead as Laine's perfect stretch pass led him in on a breakaway and he didn't miss the finish past Anderson. Gaunce added a pair of assists as well on the way to his third-ever NHL multipoint game and his first-ever three-point night.

"He's been great," Jenner said. "Ever since he came in, he's had a couple of big ones for us, another one tonight. He's just playing his game. You can see what he brings -- a big body, he gets in on the forecheck, he's skating hard. Obviously been chipping in offensively, so he's been playing really well."

Stats and Facts

• During a season that has had its fair share of record-breaking nights, the Blue Jackets added another. Adding in the seven goals scored Thursday night in a 7-4 victory at Chicago, Columbus has scored seven goals in back-to-back games for the first time in franchise history. In fact, the team had never scored more than 13 in consecutive games, and the team's mark of 42 goals the past nine games is also a franchise record.
• Laine doesn't take top billing in this one but still had a memorable night, as his two assists extends his point streak to nine games, and the Finnish star has a 10-8-18 line in that span. Laine has notched seven multipoint games in that span, and he could have had more -- his goal in the second period came off the board because of a successful offside challenge by Buffalo.
• Jenner's rebound goal tied the game in the first period and he later added an assist, giving him five points (2-3-5) in the last two games and a 9-10-19 line in the past 17 games. Nyquist now has 9-12-21 in the past 22 games after scoring an empty-netter.
• Jenner's tally was the 21st of the season for the captain and the 142nd of his CBJ career, tying him with Nick Foligno for third-most ever in franchise history.
• Justin Danforth returned to the lineup for the first time since Dec. 30 as he missed almost two months with a knee sprain. He didn't look any worse for wear, tallying in the final seconds to set the final score and finishing plus-2 in 6:59 of action.
• With the goal that made it 4-2, Werenski now has 73 tallies in his career, moving into 11th all-time in team history and breaking a tie with Brandon Dubinsky and Matt Calvert. Only four defensemen Only four defensemen in the NHL have recorded more goals since he debuted in 2016-17: Brent Burns (80), Dougie Hamilton (79), Roman Josi (78) and Victor Hedman (76).
• Werenski also has a five-game point streak (2-4-6).
• Domi assisted on Kukan's opening goal, the 200th helper of his career. He also has 99 career goals, leaving him one tally short of 100 in his career and one point shy of 300.
• Fourteen of the 18 skaters in the CBJ lineup earned at least a point.
• Columbus swept all three games of the season series vs. Buffalo, outscoring the club 18-10. The Blue Jackets are 5-0-2 in the last seven vs. Buffalo and earned the first-ever season sweep of the Sabres.
• The Blue Jackets have now trailed in 15 of their 25 wins on the season.