A lot of positives came out of game one. Many of us were pleasantly surprised at the amount of structure the team played with, as well as the pace and aggression they played with. The first big test of the season was to see if they could travel to Colorado and play the same way against a top team. We quickly found out that the answer was yes.
1st Period
The Blue Jackets couldn’t get any offensive zone time to start the game. Less than three minutes in, Aston-Reese caught a shoulder to the head, and a big scrum ensued. The result was a Columbus power play. Unfortunately, the Avs killed the penalty off without a single shot on net.
Despite a not-great first six-plus minutes, the Jackets struck first. Off the rush, Chinakhov threw a beautiful cross-crease pass to Werenski, who was able to poke it home.
CBJ Goal 1-0: Werenski (Chinakhov, Monahan) 6:38
Moments later, the new-look Kent Johnson skated into the zone and then fired a sharp-angle shot on Georgiev, beating him on the far side. The kid is on fire.
CBJ Goal 2-0: K. Johnson (Christiansen) 7:45
It should have been 2-1 when Makar drove to the net, but Tarasov made a phenomenal glove save at point-blank range. How’s that for a confidence builder?
Sillinger went to the box for tripping with less than two minutes left. A flurry of shots from Colorado on the man advantage left the puck on MacKinnon’s stick with Tarasov out of position, and the lead was cut to one with only eight seconds left in the period.
COL PP Goal 2-1: MacKinnon (Ivan, Rantanen) 19:52
The biggest positive for me in the first period was the fact that the structure and aggressive play from game one immediately carried over into game two. Inconsistent play has been the story for this team over the last three seasons. Is that finally turning around?
2nd Period
Happy Birthday, Adam Fantilli! Lebanc fed a quick pass to the birthday boy, who streaked into the zone with the puck. He took a shot from the same spot as Kent Johnson’s goal with the same result. Also, that was goodnight for Georgiev.
CBJ Goal 3-1: Fantilli (Lebanc, Tarasov) 1:56
Unfortunately, the Avs immediately got it back on a screened shot from Miles Wood.
COL Goal 3-2: Wood (Kelly, de Haan) 2:11
Severson went off for slashing, and the Avs immediately scored on the kill. For those keeping track, that’s 0 for 2 for the kill.
COL PP Goal 3-3: Mittlestadt (Colton, Makar) 3:42
The tie didn’t last long. Severson gathered a loose puck and found Marchenko in the slot. Marchy’s shot bounced around off of the new Colorado goaltender and then into the net.
CBJ Goal 4-3: Marchenko (Severson) 4:33
Four minutes without a goal – a miracle!
It didn’t last much longer than that, however. Off the rush, Chinakhov and Monahan traded shots on net before Monahan wrapped around the net and found Chinakhov on the backside. Chinny quickly got the puck into the back of the net. Monahan’s quick thinking to take the puck behind the net ultimately led to the goal.
CBJ Goal 5-3: Chinakhov (Monahan, Marchenko) 9:49
Gudbranson was sent to the box for hooking while defending a breakaway. I don’t mind that penalty to try to save a goal, but the Avs were already two for two with the man advantage. Fortunately, the Jackets were able to kill off the penalty this time.
Notably, Evason continues to lean on young guys like Kent Johnson and Pyythia on the penalty kill. I’m 100% okay with that—continue to give the kids learning opportunities.
Tarasov scrambled to make a save on a bouncing puck, landing on it to get a whistle. The officials went to replay to make sure the puck didn’t cross the line and confirmed it did not. Despite 3 goals against on 21 shots at this point in the game, Tarasov was reliable in keeping the puck in front of him.
You have to love the response of the Jackets after giving up the tying goal. How many times have we seen this team collapse after giving up a couple of quick goals?
3rd Period
The chaos immediately resumed to start the third period. Monahan rang a shot off the crossbar, and when a breakaway went the other way, Tarasov made a spectacular diving poke check to knock the puck away.
Severson committed his second penalty of the night when he hooked an Av. The Jackets’ kill was looking great when the Avs negated their man advantage with a penalty of their own. The Jackets had less than a minute on the power play and didn’t manage to get anything going.
Colton pulled the Avs within one with the net empty. Tarasov overcommitted on a cross-ice pass and left the net wide open for Colton.
COL Goal 5-4: Colton (MacKinnon, Makar) 18:40
Pyyhtia nearly had an empty net goal, but Mittlestadt held his stick to prevent the dagger. Marchenko and Monahan ended the game on a 2-on-0 when Marchenko unselfishly gave up the puck to the other Columbus birthday boy. Happy Birthday, Sean!
CBJ EN Goal 6-4: Monahan (Marchenko, Chinakhov) 19:48
Final Thoughts
Monahan, Marchenko, and Chinakhov all had three points. At 5v5, they managed a CF% of 63 and an xGF% of 80. How’s that for a first line?
Kent Johnson had another good game, but you have to wonder if the middle six lines may soon see a shake-up. Despite scoring a goal, Fantilli hasn’t been great in between JvR and Lebanc, and that line struggled as a whole in this game. If Danforth comes back soon, I’d consider slotting him in for Lebanc and then moving KJ next to Fantilli.
I’m still not a fan of the JJ-Gudbranson pair, but even though they got caved in possession-wise, they managed to be a net positive on the scoreboard.
Is the Christiansen-Severson pair actually good?
Tarasov wasn’t great, but he did just enough to earn the win. He definitely needs some work positionally.
The Jackets may have been bailed out somewhat by bad Colorado goaltending, but the fact that they came out and played similarly to game one should give fans a lot of hope moving forward. Consistency and structure will help this team grow and lead to entertaining games, no matter what the numbers in the win-loss columns say.
Up Next
The Blue Jackets’ first home game is Tuesday against the Panthers. The puck drops at 7:00 PM ET.