Kent Johnson's goal comes too late for Blue Jackets' comeback in 2-1 loss to Dallas Stars

By the time Kent Johnson's spinning backhand shot crossed the goal line, there were just 14.3 seconds left for the Blue Jackets to try to mount a comeback against the Dallas Stars.

The rookie forward's goal broke up the shutout for Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger, but it was too late for the Blue Jackets to truly get themselves back in the hunt. Though they trailed by just one goal through two periods, the Stars added an empty-net goal before the Blue Jackets were able to get on the board, leaving a hole too big to climb out of in the game's final minute as the Stars won 2-1.

"Heck of an effort," coach Brad Larsen said. "Thought we played very well. We lose (Yegor Chinakhov) right away, he gets one shift, so we’re a little bit juggling some lines. I thought Daniil (Tarasov) was excellent."

Dallas forward Wyatt Johnston opened the scoring 55 seconds into the second period, and his goal stood as the game's lone tally until the 18:53 mark of the third period, when Jason Robertson hit the empty net to double the lead. Johnson's goal provided a brief spark, but it wasn't enough for the Blue Jackets as they lost their fourth straight game, falling to 10-19-2 on the season.

Here's what you need to know from Monday's game.

Kent Johnson takes first turn at top-line center for Blue Jackets with Johnny Gaudreau, Patrik Laine

The big news of Monday morning was that, with Boone Jenner out approximately four weeks with a broken thumb, Johnson would step into the vacant spot centering the top line between Laine and Gaudreau. Johnson, the No. 5 overall pick in 2021, played center through junior hockey but switched to the wing when he joined a loaded lineup at the University of Michigan. The Blue Jackets have always maintained that they project Johnson as a center long-term, and he got his first extended look at center in the NHL on Monday.

He centered Laine and Gaudreau in the preseason and has been moved up to join them for select shifts late in games in recent weeks, but Monday was the first time he's played between them for the entire game in the regular season. Per Natural Stat Trick, the trio skated 16:08 together at five-on-five, and Johnson played season-high total of 20:07.

Larsen was noncommittal Monday morning about keeping Johnson on the top line for the full game, but the only in-game adjustment he made was to match Johnson's line against the Stars' second line, rather than their first line, after a challenging first period.

"(Johnson) cut his teeth there a bit," Larsen said. "Flipped the matchup there after the start. That’s a pretty tough line to start, with the (Roope) Hintz line. Thought he got more comfortable as the game went on. We’ll go over the video and look at some things."

Johnson felt that taking faceoffs would likely be his biggest challenge, and that proved true as he won three of 11, 27.3%. But beyond his difficulties in the circle, he looked comfortable and effective in the largest role of his NHL career to date — in just his 37th career game, and more than two seasons since the last time he was a full-time center.

"I felt like my plays in the d-zone, getting out of the zone were pretty good," Johnson said. "I’ll keep learning how to get some more takeaways quicker on some of these top guys. Playing against a guy like Robertson, it’s obviously harder to take the puck off him than I’m used to. But I’ll get better at that too."

Daniil Tarasov starts third consecutive game for Blue Jackets, makes 32 saves

If not for the efforts of Tarasov, the Stars likely would've won the game by a wider margin. According to MoneyPuck's expected goals model, Tarasov allowed one actual goal on 3.96 expected goals — meaning he saved nearly three goals more than expected.

Particularly in the second period, several of those saves were on two-on-one rushes. The Stars created quite a few odd-man rushes against the Blue Jackets' defense, and Tarasov came up with the save every time. The lone goal he allowed came on a rebound that bounced directly to Johnston's backhand, which he fired past the outstretched leg of Tarasov.

Monday's game was Tarasov's third start in a row. In the last three games, he has 92 saves on 100 shots for a .920 save percentage. The Blue Jackets are 0-3 in those games, but Tarasov's performances in net have impressed Larsen.

"He looked very comfortable tonight," Larsen said. "That’s a tough team. They throw a lot of pucks. They deflect a lot. They’re always around the net. There’s big bodies. I thought he handled that really well. They’re going to get some zone time. They’ve got a big, strong team and can pressure.

"I think every time you see him in there, he does look more comfortable. One of the biggest changes for these goalies when they come over is the traffic, is those pucks that are getting on you quick. The more game action he gets, the more comfortable he seems to get in it."

Yegor Chinakhov leaves Blue Jackets game with injury

It seems impossible that the injuries could continue to pile up for the Blue Jackets — Larsen said both Monday morning and after the game that he doesn't even know what to say at this point — but just 1:20 into the game, on Yegor Chinakhov's first shift of the night, he added his name to the lengthy list of injured players.

Chinakhov tangled with Stars forward Joel Kiviranta in an awkward collision that began with Kiviranta falling to the ice, landing on the back of Chinakhov's left leg along the way and taking Chinakhov down with him.

Chinakhov remained on the ice in pain for a moment and then skated off under his own power, but did not put any weight on his left leg. He immediately went down the tunnel to the locker room and was ruled out for the rest of the game. Larsen didn't have an update on Chinakhov's prognosis, but his somber tone didn't project optimism.

"We’ll know tomorrow," Larsen said. "I don’t know. We’ll see."

Coming up for the Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets traveled Monday night to Philadelphia, where they'll play the Flyers on Tuesday at 7 p.m. They'll then head to Chicago for their final game before the holiday break, which will be played Friday night at 8:30 p.m. The NHL's holiday break is Dec. 24-26, so the Blue Jackets will return to the ice after Christmas on Dec. 27 to face the Buffalo Sabres at home.

bjohnson@dispatch.com

@BaileyAJohnson_

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Kent Johnson scores late for Blue Jackets in 2-1 loss to Dallas