It was a match up of two teams looking to rebound from a loss when the puck dropped at Nationwide Arena Saturday. Carolina was coming off a 7-1 drubbing at the hands of the Penguins, and Columbus wanted to redeem a sound effort versus Ottawa before they head out on the road for two weeks, even with a jumbled defensive corps that was without Markus Nutivaara and David Savard.
A strong first period had Blue Jackets fans giddy, with goals from Markus Hannikainen and Scott Hartnell, before a desolate second had the home team in a proverbial shot desert where they allowed Carolina to come back to evens. Backstopped by Sergei Bobrovsky, ultimately, it was the veteran Hartnell who would capitalize on a brilliant Sam Gagner feed to secure the 3-2 win, even with six team penalties taken, and maintain the W-L-W-L-W pattern the Jackets have been on as of late.
It wasn’t one to write home about, except for note of the standing room only crowd, but a win is a win.
Ugly wins are still wins.
— 2022 skeptic (@derdrache) January 22, 2017
Let’s take a look at the superlatives.
The Not Even Close to Ok. The Second Period.
Let’s just get it out of the way. The second period was dreadful. Riding a 2-0 lead, the Jackets seemed to turtle right before our very eyes. They didn’t register a shot on goal till almost 15 minutes into the period and gave up two goals against to allow the Canes to get right back in this one.
Only one player was good in that period for Columbus, and he wasn’t skating out on the ice.
“Bob’s obviously our best penalty killer,” Scott Hartnell said post game. In total, Bob turned away 58 shot attempts and 37 shots on goal in this game, but perhaps none bigger than those he made while the team in front of him tried to remember how to shoot on net.
This is a shot chart courtesy of hockeystats.ca that shows all shot attempts in all situations. The Jackets’ attempts are represented by the black line. Look at the segment marked as the second period. It is a literal flat line for Columbus.
Scott Hartnell revealed in his post-game interview with Jody Shelley that captain Nick Foligno had some choice words for the team after those 20 minutes. It’s nice to see the response but, seriously. Don’t do that, team. Don’t. Don’t even make that kind of conversation necessary ever again.
The Delightful. Markus Hannikainen.
Markus Hannikainen is 23 years old. In his first ever NHL game last season, he didn’t even finish the game before he was taken out by a St. Louis Blue and suffered a broken clavicle. This season, buoyed by his Calder Cup Championship performance last year and strong play in Cleveland, the young forward has been called up to Columbus seven separate times. He’s played in just six games total as a result. But he has maintained a positive attitude, likes to take pre-game rushes, and always has a smile on his face. Tonight, that smile was bigger than ever when the Finn scored his first ever NHL point which just happened to also be his first ever NHL goal.
It came on play much like his NHL stints to date. Just keep chipping away, and the results will come.
Good on ya, Hanni.
Markus Hannikainen's first NHL goal! What an effort! 1-0 Jackets #CBJ pic.twitter.com/MtuHdNy6Hy
— Buckeye State Hockey (@BuckeyeStHockey) January 21, 2017
The Good. Scott Hartnell.
Scott Hartnell may be one of the older players on the Blue Jackets at 34-years-old, but he sure doesn’t play like it. Year over year, even as his role changes as far as ice time and special teams, the man finds a way to produce points at a consistent rate.
The graph below represents each of Hartnell’s years in the NHL. The top bar shows his primary points (Goals and first assists) per 60 minutes. Very few extreme dips or highs for this guy, in fact, he’s riding some of his better performances later in his career while with Columbus.
It shows there’s something to be said for experience. Not just in how to play the game – execute the passes, the shots, et cetera; but also in knowing how the game is played. His experience has allowed him to know how a play is going to happen and how to handle it. You see it in the little things, but tonight you saw it in his prowess capitalizing on chances to get two goals and ultimately secure the win.
The Honorable Mention. Dalton Prout.
With injuries (undisclosed) for roster regulars Savard and Nutivaara, John Tortorella has been looking to Scott Harrington and Dalton Prout to fill the void. It’s a tough ask after not playing regularly and tonight both were in as a third pairing. And wouldn’t you know, Prouter comes up big with two assists, for just the second time in his career.
#CBJ retake the lead 3-2 on @Hartsy43's third multi-goal game of the campaign (13 total). Prout w/ 2nd career multi-assist/point game.
— CBJ Public Relations (@BlueJacketsPR) January 22, 2017
Quote of the Game.
Q: “Do you feel fortunate to have found a way to get two points tonight?”
John Tortorella: “Yep.”
Tweet of the Game (Bonus! Lucky You!)
In those last couple of minutes this little kid behind Tortorella was many of us. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/RjBbBS9y2j
— Buckeye State Hockey (@BuckeyeStHockey) January 22, 2017
Not a lot of time to rest for this team. They fly to Ottawa tonight to face the Senators (again) for another matinee start!
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