Is your pulse raised Columbus?
That team, that 5-12-2 mess, spiraling towards the dreaded basement in lieu of a Davidson fueled rebuild, is a figment of history. Twenty four games later, this new look, hard working, hair raising workhorse of a roster continues to get the job done, this time in the extra frame. Comparably, that makes their record 15-4-5
The victory against Colorado improves their win streak to four games, and betters their last ten result to 7-3-0. All this was done in front of a ‘claimed’ crowd of 13,694, although I think they may have been counting hot dogs sold over seats filled.
Sergei Bobrovsky continues to impress with endless games above the .900 mark. He made 29 of 32 saves tonight, with quite a few of them being in the category of ‘sparkling’ and a handful that would be defined as game changing. This of course coming off news that Bob had once again been named the NHL’s first star of the week. His year long save percentage sits above .930, second only to Ottawa’s Craig Anderson atop the NHL charts.
To the game, there was some noticeably strong play early from Columbus, showing the necessary jump to keep play moving forward. While it did not produce on the scoreboard, I felt both teams had solid opportunities in the first period to score, and Giguere and Bobrovsky proved up to the task. The period ended with no blood drawn, scoreless at zero.
The second period was a lot of fall for the first half. Columbus begun to drag a bit, making big time mistakes with the puck inside their defensive zone, and eventually, Colorado capitalized on lazy defensive coverage in front. A long shot stopped by Bob left McLeod alone in front to bat the rebound through the five hole, and Columbus was forced to come from behind.
But as we have known this team to do, resilience offered a great resurgence into the game, and a minute later during a broken forecheck, Mark Letestu deposited the puck into a yawning net thanks to an excellent pass he received from Vinny Prospal. While Colorado came away from the second ahead in shots, the game did not feel in favour of either team, turning the third into another much anticipated late season clawing match.
It only took a couple of game minutes into the third period for the tie to break. Hard work generated by Columbus’ fourth line produced Blake Comeau’s first goal as a Blue Jacket. It was a hard working goal that touched the stick of Prout, Boll, and MacKenzie before finally reaching the stick of Comeau in the slot. Exactly what you’d hope to see out of a grinding line.
Fast forward; a questionable goal by McLeod along with a powerplay goal by McGinn late put Columbus in the position they flat out cannot afford to be in. Down late to a mediocre hockey club, fighting for a single point. This is awfully reminiscent of the 2012 Blue Jackets who played spoiler to Colorado late in the year, but the story would be told differently this time around.
Pressing hard offensively, Columbus’ Ryan Johansen made a nearly unexplainably perfect pass through three Colorado players to find a striding Umberger breaking in alone on Giguere. He took the puck to his backhand and slid it through the five hole, tying the game at three apiece with only a minute and a half left in the game. For those not following on twitter, it went from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs within seconds, and it was fun to watch.
All credit to Columbus, they did not stop there, and managed to produce a number of great chances in the overtime, along with Bob continuing to stand on his head. Finally, with only about thirty seconds left to play, Fedor Tyutin made a scramble play to advance the puck to Nick Foligno, who strode down the wing with Umberger and a defender. On a second angle it appears he had his mind made up to shoot most of the way, and found the short side corner for the Jackets win. Elation, excitement, and once again, a tie in points with Detroit for the 8th spot.
After the game, the talk of resilience was there. The idea that this dressing room believes in each other, and a happy coach talking to media shortly thereafter. Coach Richards emphasized their ability to find ways to win hockey games, and how the emotion is palpable between himself and the players every time the puck goes their way. He also talked about utilizing the entire roster to get the win, crediting the full team for their success.
It is the kind of talk you want to hear from your coach this late in the season. The type of acknowledgements that help a team no one considered competitive fight for the playoffs. It is what it will take throughout the final five games to turn it into a reality.
4 – Los Angeles – 52 points – 6 games remaining
5 – San Jose – 51 points – 6 games remaining
6 – Minnesota – 49 points – 6 games remaining
7 – St Louis – 48 points – 7 games remaining
8 – Detroit – 47 points – 6 games remaining
——————– The dreaded bar ——————–
9 – Columbus – 47 points – 5 games remaining
10 – Dallas – 45 points – 6 games remaining
11 – Phoenix – 43 points – 6 games remaining
The dream is real, and I for one am enjoying the battle. Carry the Flag!
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