Game two, night two of a road back-to-back sounds tiring enough. The Columbus Blue Jackets were pushed even further Tuesday night, going a full 65 minutes with a tie in Detroit. The Red Wings came away with the extra point, as Andreas Athanasiou delivered the shootout winner.
The game wasn’t a great outing for the Jackets, and maybe tired legs contributed to the outcome. Detroit dominated the first two periods, around 60% in shot attempts both frames (via Natural Stat Trick). Strong goaltending kept the score low, and helped make the night’s overtime frame one of the best in a while.
The Good: Boone Jenner
The lone goal scorer for the Blue Jackets, Boone Jenner continued his strong play from last night. This time, it was a tally befitting his hard-working reputation. Boone out-muscled the Red Wings, wound up a lovely shot, and put the visitors up by one.
gotta want it pic.twitter.com/CvzwF6MkLw
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) February 24, 2016
Jenner continues to impress, and is a great story for a Columbus team in need of positives. The forward is now up to 22 tallies on the year and he’s rocketing past previous highs in both goals and points.
The Also Good: Riley Sheahan
Detroit’s Sheahan brought the Red Wings even in the second period with a nifty shorthanded goal. Alexei Marchenko popped a puck loose from Seth Jones, and Sheahan rocketed forward to collect. Sheahan moved the puck to the forehand and cleanly beat McElhinney.
The Notre Dame product helped put Detroit on the verge of victory in the shootout, too. His contribution was another forehand attempt, but this time with more dekes to sneak the puck past goalie.
The Great: Overtime and Randy Hahn
This was a sloppy, fast-break, mayhem overtime. Two-on-ones, quick passing, lots of shooting, wild goalie saves. It was awesome, and everything I love about the three-on-three. Had either goalie slipped up, the thing would have ended early on. Instead, we got to watch five minutes of insanity. It’s a shame the game had to end at all, and a lethargic shootout was the disappointing consolation. I think this OT is the kind of footage you share with hockey non-believers to help bring them aboard.
Another big viewing positive: NBCSN’s production and play-by-play. Voices are personal preference, so I won’t claim to speak for anybody else: I loved Randy Hahn’s delivery. He speaks with clarity, authority, and seemed unbiased (fitting, given his usual role as voice of the Sharks). I understand why Columbus isn’t a priority for NBC, but I appreciate the fresh perspective nonetheless.
Tweet of the Game:
I won’t lie, there were a few less-than-ideal moments in OT, and they seemed to come at the expense of the Red Wings.
Quick whistles? #CBJ pic.twitter.com/diaEe2C9sa
— Buckeye State Hockey (@BuckeyeStHockey) February 24, 2016
What can you do?
The Blue Jackets return to action (and Nationwide) on Thursday against the New Jersey Devils!
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