Friday night hockey ended in Ohio with the Blue Jackets falling 3-2 to the Penguins. This keeps the Pens on trajectory for a playoff berth, and spoils a return to the net from Sergei Bobrovsky. Yet with all the pre-game hype, the lack of Columbus-Pittsburgh fireworks might be the story here. The visitors elected to scratch Tom Sestito and limited their non-skill, all-physical threats. Tensions never really bubbled too much (just a few net-mouth scrums after goalie saves). The game was mostly hockey!
The Good: Surprises
Gregory Campbell, Jared Boll, and Rene Bourque are not offensive weapons. Friday night, the trio combined for a surprising tally, concluding with a really nice pass and a good finish.
chippin' in. pic.twitter.com/wqorSs6UOp
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 12, 2016
It’s nice to see some moments of success for the fourth line. The assist was Boll’s first of the year, and the goal Campbell’s third.
How about the possible big altercations, the Dubinsky/Sestito showdown? None of it, maybe the most pleasant surprise of the day. Instead of constant goonery, the game never derailed too far. That’s not to say the game was unemotional (Hartnell and Prout shoved a few Penguins away from Bobrovsky in post-whistle moments). This was contained relative to shenanigans of the past, and that’s more the kind of hockey I enjoy.
The Tipping Point: The Second Period
The first twenty minutes were an even affair (11-11 in ES Corsi counts, via Natural Stat Trick). Columbus got the first goal (on the aforementioned Campbell situation), and the Pens picked up a Letang beam on the powerplay.
In the second period? Not as friendly for the home team.
https://twitter.com/CorsicaHockey/status/708467249108164608
Ultimately, Natural Stat Trick reports a 25-13 Pittsburgh shot attempt advantage (at even strength). It’s a wide territorial edge, and play like that bodes well for the Pens’ success.
Adding to the shot advantage: goals. The open to the second period was fairly back-and-forth, with three total goals in under five minutes. Two of those tallies went Pittsburgh’s way, including Carl Hagelin’s game winner. Combine the scoreboard advantage with the puck control? It was the kind of distance Pittsburgh needed to control the period and limit the chance of a Columbus comeback.
Fun to Watch: Cam Atkinson and Kris Letang
Cam Atkinson is one of the brightest points for the Blue Jackets this year. He continued a career season with his 24th goal. Even beyond the goal, Atkinson was his usual speedy, aggressive, puck-controlling self. Did you know that Cam Atkinson is in the top 40 of all NHL goal scorers since the start of the 2013-14 season (via Hockey-Reference)? He’s dynamic fun to watch, and he’s a great cost-effective weapon for Columbus.
On the other side, Kris Letang is a treat. He finished the game with over 28 minutes on ice (about 21 at even strength), 6 minutes more than the next closest Penguin. With all that responsibility, Letang turned his smooth skating, quick passing, and good shot into a 61% ES CF%. When thinking “elite” NHL d-men, both Erik Karlsson and Drew Doughty have been getting attention for their outstanding play this year (especially Karlsson). I think Letang deserves similar credit, and he was fun to watch Friday.
Tweet of the Game
A lone voice just started cheering “let’s go Flyers.” I’m so confused.
— Alison (@AlisonL) March 12, 2016
The Blue Jackets’ next game is a Sunday afternoon matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Action starts at 3:00 pm in Nationwide Arena.
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