The Columbus Blue Jackets traded forward Brandon Saad back to the Chicago Blackhawks during the summer, getting Artemi Panarin in return. Saad, who was drafted by the Blackhawks in 2011 and played in the Windy City until 2015, took no time getting in on the action against the Blue Jackets when his Hawks hosted the CBJ on Saturday.
It was a matchup that we all had been talking about. The Chicago Blackhawks’ Brandon Saad and Artemi Panarin of the Columbus Blue Jackets dueling against their former teams early on in the 2017-18 season was something to watch out for due to each’s incredible talent for scoring and helping their teammates score. And Saad was first to show why he shouldn’t have been traded.
Just over six minutes into the game, Patrick Sharp took a slap shot from the right side of Chicago’s offensive zone on a power play. Joonas Korpisalo was able to stuff that shot, but Jonathan Toews was right there to cause a scramble for the puck in front of the net. Despite Korpisalo, Toews and David Savard going for the puck, it squirted out to the right–landing perfectly at Brandon Saad’s feet. From there, Saad easily smacked it in to make it a 2-0 game. He got knocked over by Jack Johnson for his troubles.
Brandon Saad goal.
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CBJ 0
CHI 2 pic.twitter.com/kfvACJhavq
This was Saad’s fourth goal of the season, making it four goals in four periods. After a hat trick in his return game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, it should really be no surprise to see him continuing his hot scoring.
The rest of the first period was fairly quiet as neither team could score another goal, but Saad’s goal was surely frustrating and deflating for Columbus Blue Jackets fans. You never want to see a former player score against your team, and especially when Saad didn’t show this kind of scoring punch in Columbus.
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After becoming the first CBJ player to ever tally three points in a team debut, Artemi Panarin has not been a factor so far against Chicago. Hopefully, that changes as the game progresses.