After 182 days, the NHL regular season returned to Columbus. The Blue Jackets and New York Rangers opened the year at Nationwide with a rough, physical, sloppy game, and the visitors came away with the win. The hits came hard and often, the passes were not crisp, the moves were not great, and the Jackets had the lead late in the game anyway. Some untimely turnovers and uncharacteristic responses from Bobrovsky undid the victory and afforded the Rangers three late goals to pick up a win.
The Good: Cam Atkinson and Brandon Dubinsky
Cam was noticeable all night, and in great ways. He made impacts on the PK, helping to generate shots and kill the clock. He also put away a beautiful effort for the first goal of the year.
Brandon Dubinksy’s recovery of a Brassard bobble turned into a brilliant pass. Atkinson’s speed and hands made quick work of the remaining defense and Henrik Lundqvist. Fedor Tyutin approves!
https://twitter.com/RockmanHalo/status/652647750153039873
Dubinsky was great in most other areas, too. He couldn’t finish off his shots on goal, but was firing on all cylinders anyway (ending with a game-high +12 even strength Corsi, on 19 for and 7 against). All this done in spite of a primarily defensive role, up against the best of the NYR lineup. Plenty of good things, very few bad. In short, Dubi was himself.
Also Quite Good: CBJ Team Defense
The Columbus powerplay left a bit to be desired going 1-for-5 on the night. The other side of the special teams coin? Quite strong. Aside from the Aktinson and Dubinsky contributions, the rest of the team seriously limited the Rangers. Few shots against, plenty of clogged lanes, and general effective work at sending the puck to Lundqvist.
Even beyond the PK, there wasn’t a weak period for Columbus, as they held the Rangers to only 25 total shots. Murray and Savard were effective, Bourque didn’t look out of place, the CBJ went toe-to-toe with New York and came away even or better most of the time. Only two Jackets finished the night below water in even strength shot differential (check out Hockeystats.ca for more), certainly better than seeing the alternative.
The Early Season: Rough Passing
The new-look first line (Saad-Johansen-Foligno) were dominant scorers in the preseason. They were a bit out of sorts tonight. You can see things almost working: Saad’s physical strength is obvious as he carried a few Rangers around on more than one occasion. Johansen is still huge (albeit with some strange behind the back passes). Foligno was nearly there for a few slot shots, if not for an extra move or two. They ended the night with a goal (Saad’s glorious powerplay snipe in the third), so it’s tantalizing to think about the line giving more.
Not Great: Sergei Bobrovsky
The Rangers were limited all night long, and Bobrovsky’s .840 on the night tells an unfortunate story. Goals were coming off turnovers. Also true: Bob’s reaction didn’t seem up to his standards. Oscar Lindberg started the third period volley, and it’s not a good look.
The Blue Jackets will want more crispness out of their goalie next time up.
Not Ideal: Wennberg Injury
Alex Wennberg took a late hit from Chris Kreider in the first period, and was slow to leave the ice. He went to the dressing room and returned once, only to permanently leave the game soon after.
The Blue Jackets confirmed post-game: Wennberg’s diagnosis is a concussion. With a rematch tomorrow in New York, we won’t wait long to see the new forward lines.
In Other Good News
Result aside: Hockey is Back! The past few days of NHL openers have been fun. Getting my favorite team back? Much better. You should go watch that in-arena intro video on the CBJ YouTube. It’s just too bad the joy didn’t keep up from start to finish.
More great news on Bill Davidge, reiterated on the Fox Sports Ohio broadcast this evening. He’s fighting multiple myeloma, and repeated his Twitter note: treatment has eliminated 90% of the cancer. Davidge noted there’s more fight ahead, and we’re rooting for him!
Finally, AAA Blue Jackets player Jordan Crawford performed the ceremonial puck drop. He helped to pull a man from a burning car, and was honored for his quick action and bravery at the game. More of his story from WHIO.
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