In the battle of Jamie Benn vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night, the winner was … Jamie Benn, taking on four defenders and goalie Steve Mason to score one of the most remarkable goals of the NHL season.
As the Dallas Stars forward began the play in the neutral zone in the second period, Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Kris Russell attempted to bump Benn off the puck. Instead, Benn stayed on it, spun around and past Russell. Derrick Brassard had his blade on the puck, and Benn still controlled. Nash put pressure on him, and Benn danced past him.
Defenseman Aaron Johnson lunged for the puck, missed, it went off his skate and Benn collected it again. (Hey, even the greatest goals need a little happy accident here or there.) Benn then had Mason down, as the Jackets goalie tried to poke the puck away. The Dallas forward waited and fired it into a gaping net.
Goal of the year candidate? For the hot-knife-through-generic-margarine setup, perhaps; but the finish wasn't all that dazzling. What say you?
As for Columbus: 0-5-1 on the season after a 3-2 loss to the visiting Stars. Despite this goal, the effort from the Jackets was there after their recent bag skate; the results were not. One point in six games … panic time? Help us James Wisniewski, you're our only hope!