Damon Severson News: Pots fluky game-winner

Severson scored the game-winning goal in Wednesday's 2-0 victory over the Islanders.

The game was scoreless through two periods, but early in the third Severson carried the puck into the corner and tries to slip a pass to James van Riemsdyk camped in front of the New York crease. Instead, the puck deflected off Ryan Pulock's skate and got past a helpless Semyon Varlamov. Severson struggled in 2023-24 under the weight of his big free-agent contract and the coaching chaos in Columbus, but the veteran defenseman has been more relaxed and more productive to begin the current campaign, racking up two goals and five points in the Blue Jackets' first nine games with 16 shots on net, 14 blocked shots, eight hits, eight PIM and a plus-5 rating.