Well the Blue Jackets returned to Nationwide Arena’s main ice for the first time in a month and, while it looked like there was still some rust being knocked off in a rare Saturday matinee, two points were earned, and in this playoff push, that’s all that matters. It’s worth noting that every CBJ goal tonight was earned on a power play, in a shorthanded situation or on an empty net (Thank goodness it was Florida in town). So without delay, let’s get on to the three stars…
3rd Star – RJ Umberger
RJ can get a lot of critique from the CBJ fan base, but today was a good day for him. RJ seemed really poised to play a physical game and found himself with quite a few chances. He played a gritty game and deservedly got a goal for his efforts. RJ played his role today and was deservedly rewarded. He ended the afternoon at +1 and was someone who was definitely energized by the line changes that Coach Richards put in place.
2nd Star – Artem Anisimov
I had read opinions that going to Russia might be best for Artem – one of the lesser stars on Team Russia who could learn a lot from someone like an Alex Ovechkin. While Team Russia underperformed, Arty seems to be bringing an elevated play to Columbus post-break. Brandon Dubinsky said his short-handed (and game winning) goal was a huge momentum shift. It came with 10 seconds to go in the second period and closed the first 40 minutes with the CBJ back on top. It was nice to see Arty go to the dirty areas, get to the net and releasing that backhand shot we know and love so well.
1st Star – David Savard
Who would have thought? Savard had a resurgence in the offseason but had seemed to struggle down the stretch right before Olympic break. While others on the defense seemed to still be finding their game late into Saturday afternoon, Savvy looked rather solid and knocked home a boomer when the game was still in a back and forth situation. Interesting commentary when your first star is a defensemen, but with Tyutin still out, I’ll take it.
Stud: Special Teams. After being much maligned, the Jackets went three for four on the power play, and also shut down the Panthers on all four of theirs. It was nice to see the guys get rewarded not only in playing their role – scoring on the man advantage while keeping the opponent from scoring when they had the extra skater – but also to bring home the short-handed goal; something that had been the nemesis of the Jackets as late. I’d still like to see a bit more confidence from Ryan Murray – there were a few times he passed instead of shot, and there was a bit of hesitancy in cycling passes that would have got the defense and goaltender moving more – but overall, a well performed effort from the guys who play in penalty situations.
Dud: Sloppy Play. See my comments above on Ryan Murray. They guy I love to watch had more than a few mistakes today – simple lapses in judgment – that struck me as things that we should be past by now. Also, some rough bounces on Bob and play that was far too loose by Wiz kept our defense on their heels. Matt Calvert didn’t seem to have the physicality he needed to play the game against what the Panthers were bringing – again, something else you just don’t expect. There were a lot of bouncing pucks, and ugly turnovers that we need to eliminate fast if we’re going to get to where we need to be at season’s end. Luckily, in the last 15 minutes or so, we looked to be getting to the team we expect in Union Blue.
The team leaves tomorrow to head to Toronto for a very important game against the Leafs – a team firmly in the wildcard race – and then return to Nationwide Tuesday against the Stars. Every game is an important game but isn’t that exactly how we want it to be?
Carry the Flag!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
