In the final meeting this regular season between the Blue Jackets and the Blackhawks, fans of both teams were treated to an excellent game, loaded with shots, great saves, quality plays, and extended time. Sadly, the sea of red was quite visible in the crowd, however, the Hawks fans weren’t noticeably louder than the Blue Jackets fans until the final outcome was determined, and any pro Hawks chants were stymied by the collective.
The shootout loss tonight ends the season series at 0-2-2. While the Blackhawks achieved all eight points available, Columbus put up a substantial fight in each of the four games, losing by a goal (or less if you consider the shootout loss). And lest we forget the first meeting of the season where a terrible interference call on Foligno left Columbus one goal short. In short, Columbus put up an impressive fight against one of the best teams in the National Hockey League. Certainly an improvement from years past.
Now for some more interesting stats:
- Bobrovsky made 39 of 40 saves for a .975% save percentage. He was a beast.
- Columbus now has points in their last nine games
- Brassard now has a four game point streak
- The Blue Jackets have played 19 of 28 games this season where the margin of victory was one goal
Take the 10-12-6 record however you will. Use it to belittle the franchise on paper on another sub .500 season. Do whatever you want, but know first hand that you’re out of your mind. This team has been an absolute blast to watch this season, despite a serious gap in top end talent, injuries, and an ever changing front office. They have formed a collective unit on the ice and play for one another rather than as individuals. The penalty kill is substantially better than I’ve seen over the last few seasons, and their energy is palpable. In short, this team is worth watching.
The final stretch of the game last night, between the third period and overtime, was incredible. An absolutely awesome way to cap a season series, with the play going back and forth, shots nearly finding the back of the net, and unconscious netminding from our Sergei Bobrovsky. Jack Johnson was a force with the puck on his stick and I enjoyed him stymying Toews during regulation and overtime. His goal was a bomb from just above the faceoff circle, and he nearly had a couple more during the four on four overtime.
But everything comes back to Bob. His year long save percentage is now .927, and his month of March is an incredible .971 after seven games. This includes two games against Vancouver, a game against Chicago, and two against Detroit. Safe to say these opponents aren’t pushovers. Last night, however, some of his absolute best was on hand. I would probably need at least both hands to count the number of game changing saves he made, and on at least two occasions, he made saves that could be deemed ‘miraculous’ by common standard. A huge desperation glove save in regulation, followed by another rebound based save in overtime justified (or solidified) his position as the number one star.
I won’t really get into my disdain for the skills competition that ruined a great game, but not surprisingly, the talent of Chicago’s bench found pay dirt for two points. While Bob struggled to contain Toews and Kane, Anisimov managed a fantastic backhand goal that went shelf on Crawford. The entire arena erupted with glee, proving the Arty’s backhander really is a secret (and lethal) weapon.
The Blue Jackets are once again at Nationwide Arena this Saturday, facing off against the Phoenix Coyotes. Carry The Flag!
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