The Columbus Blue Jackets have won again!
The Jackets marched into New Jersey still missing the talented Ryan Johansen, who was also absent from the Jackets’ last game against Colorado. Hopefully he’s back soon because the Jackets needed something, anything to give them a spark on the offensive side of the puck today. Thankfully for the Blue Jackets, they overcame 50 minutes of frustration to scurry out of the Prudential Center with 2 points, 3 goals and 1 happy Russian goalie.
1st Period
This game screams 15 shots for the CBJ
— Brett (@RockmanHalo) October 27, 2015
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This was not a good 20 minutes of hockey for the Blue Jackets. They only managed 2 shots the entire frame, couldn’t seem to complete a pass into the Devils’ zone and took 2 penalties in the second half of the first. They leaned heavily on Bobrovsky throughout the game, and that tone was set pretty early on.
2nd Period
Columbus came out much better at the onset of the second, but quickly the sluggish, sloppy play continued. Besides a few more penalties taken by the CBJ and Jack Johnson absolutely going ape on Stephen Gionta, the Jackets’ offense was soon quiet again and they allowed New Jersey to control play.
3rd Period
The story was STILL much of the same here; the Jackets had 6 total shots on net and 3 of those were goals. For 9 minutes, again, the Devils did pretty much whatever they wanted to do until a mad scramble in front of the flopping Schneider suddenly gave the Jackets a 1-0 lead. What happened next was something that Jackets fans were used to seeing…but this time the Jackets were the ones to score another quick one. In almost a real-time minute the game had gone from a feeling of impending doom to one of sudden joy.
Add on a rebound PPG for the Devils and an absolute BOMB by Scott Hartnell and the horn sounds on the Jackets’ second win in a row!
The Good
Easily the best part of was the stretch of about 50 seconds in which the Jackets changed the course of the game. We had seen that exact thing happen to Columbus in their first game of the year and often after. A few goals in bunches and a sudden deflation of any compete from the squad, it was often a recipe for disaster. Man, it must feel awesome when that’s happening to someone else’s team!
(Let’s not forget Sergei Bobrovsky who had a fantastic game, notching a .958 save percentage and keeping his team in this one until the offense woke up.)
The Bad
The Devils were walking all over the Jackets’ end of the ice. To say it was tilted is an understatement. Shots were being kept to the outside or relatively low percentage places but, they came way too easy.
The Ugly
The offense the other 55 minutes of the game was just….14 shots, guys! I get that it’s the Devils but it’s not 1999! You aren’t going to win many hockey games with 14 shots so the Jackets are lucky to walk out with a clean 2 points.
Final Thoughts
If the Blue Jackets were 8-1-0 this game might worry me, but since they’re 2-8-0 it’s encouraging to see them gut one out and explode into the win column like they did. Bob had a great game and I am hoping that the CBJ start playing with “arrogance” or “swagger” or “a few dollars in their pockets at Taco Bell during happy hour.” After a god awful 8 game slump, I am sure they’ll take anything.
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