A huge hard fought win for the Blue Jackets finally brings them into sole possession of a playoff birth. A great road game from the Jackets paid off huge, even though it looked like it might slip away from them in the 3rd period. Sergei Bobrovsky was his usual stellar self, only really getting beat on one goal. I’m not going to break down that ridiculous Dave Steckel goal (which even Puck Daddy thought was very strange), other than to say that it could have broken the team. Goals like that are the ultimate deflators. It could have ended the Jackets in this game, which probably would have ended their season. Instead, they didn’t miss a beat, tied it up a few minutes later, and pulled it off in overtime (again). You can’t praise the heart of this team enough. Let’s take a closer look at the goals:
1-0 Anaheim, 11:37 1st Period, Sami Vatanen from Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry
Ducks have some movement off the draw on the powerplay, with Vatanen getting some space and ripping it past Bobrovsky. There isn’t really a “mistake” per se by anyone here, I’d just like to see this goal played differently. After losing the draw, Brandon Dubinsky does a fantastic job getting out to Getzlaf and forcing him to move the puck. This gets the puck to Vatanen, probably the least dangerous Duck on the ice. Since it was coming off the draw, Vatanen had a ton of space on the far side of the ice and he jumped into it. What I would like to see done differently is how Matt Calvert played it. He stays locked in the high slot, presumably to cover Teemu Selanne. I would rather see Calvert pressure Vatanen and have Dubinsky come back down on Selanne. If Calvert takes an angle from Selanne at Vatanen, he can still disrupt a pass to Teemu, while making it much more difficult for Vatanen to get this shot off. But this would also open of the pass back to Getzlaf up high, as Dubinsky would need to come down on Selanne instead of putting back pressure on Vatanen while staying in the passing lane to Getzlaf. It’s a Catch-22 here, as they have the option of giving Vatanen a clear lane for a shot (with a Corey Perry screen in front), or they leave Selanne and Getzlaf open for a moment (which can be all those two need to score).
1-1 Tie, 16:38 2nd Period, Blake Comeau from James Wisniewski
I’ve been as hard on the 4th line as anyone, but I have to give them credit for their fantastic play lately. The jump from Colton Gillies to Comeau can’t be understated, as he brings everything Gillies does, plus much much more. They continue their great work on this shift, getting a good look from Derek Mackenzie before forcing Francois Beauchemin into a panic wrap (which Boll may or may not have slowed down). Wisniewski makes a good play to gather that puck and find the wide open Comeau. Wiz has had some issues collecting pucks on the blueline lately, so it was really great to see him flawlessly pick that puck up and make a play with it. As for Comeau’s tip, well that is just a thing of beauty.
2-2 Tie, 9:42 3rd Period, Matt Calvert from Brandon Dubinsky and Dalton Prout
This goal was something of a set play, as Dubinsky heads straight to the net off the faceoff win (he went 17-8 on draws). Tim Erixon and Prout spread out the Ducks forwards drawing them high to each side of the ice. Dubinsky out-muscles Beauchemin on the wrap-around attempt, popping the puck right into the slot. Having both Cam Atkinson and Calvert in front forces decisions for the Ducks players. Atkinson gets stopped, but Calvert is wide open behind him. This relates back to the start of this play, as Erixon and Prout spreading out the forwards creates space in the slot. Had Prout stayed in the middle of the ice, the Ducks forward would have had ample time to come back down on Calvert.
3-2 Columbus, 2:19 OT, Fedor Tyutin from Nick Foligno and Marian Gaborik
Two things about the lead up to this goal to note: first, Gaborik just takes the puck from Selanne in the neutral zone to get it to Foligno. Gaborik doesn’t always look likes he’s trying his hardest, but this was a great hustle play by a guy not really known for them. Great to see. Second, the work by Foligno. I have mixed feelings on Foligno sometimes. He works his ass off, has a great physical presence, and is much more skilled than most guys with his level of grit. But he frequently scares the hell out of me. He has a tendency to try and go through every single player before making a move. Here he does just enough. He dangles to the point the Ducks are out of position, then lays a perfect feed to Tyutin, who makes another beautiful redirect that beats Viktor Fasth five hole. Speaking of Tyutin, what a great read here. He sees Selanne puckwatching, sees the space in front created by Foligno, and attacks. That is a confident, heady play, which isn’t something that would have been said much about Tyutin in seasons past, but is absolutely true this year.
So there you have it. A great effort, on the road, during a late start, with a fluky third period goal against; yet this team still manages to pull off the win. With the Flames taking down the Red Wings in regulation, the Jackets not only have sole possession of 8th place, they have a tiny bit of breathing room. Not enough room to slack off, but the playoff odds are a coin flip at this point. Sports Club Stats has the Jackets at 40.4% chance of making the playoffs, Detroit at 40.3%, with Dallas and Phoenix trailing behind with 22.7% and 2.9% respectively. Detroit doesn’t play again until Saturday, when they take on the Canucks (followed by the Coyotes, Kings, Predators and Stars). Columbus has LA tonight, with the Sharks, Stars and Predators closing out the schedule. Those are some pretty even schedules. Can’t wait for this final week, should be some fantastic, exciting hockey.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
