The Columbus Blue Jackets entered this game having lost two in a row. The Vancouver Canucks, meanwhile, somehow had the fewest home wins in the league. Which negative streak would end?
The struggles in Alberta led Dean Evason to shuffle his forward lines dramatically:
JVR-Monahan-Johnson
Voronkov-Fantilli-Marchenko
ZAR-Sillinger-Olivier
Kuraly-Danforth-Labanc
First Period
Despite being on the second leg of a back-to-back, the Jackets seemed to get the message and started well. First, Cole Sillinger battled for the puck behind the net and made a seemingly impossible pass around the goa right to Mathieu Olivier.
The first penalties came as Zach Aston-Reese and Erik Brannstrom got into some extracurricular activities with each other, resulting in two minutes of 4v4. Ivan Provorov made a great pass through the neutral zone to a streaking Damon Severson. Severson let loose a slapper from the circle to make it 2-0.
The Jackets led the shot count 17-2 through the first 20 minutes.
Second Period
Early in the second, Provorov was tripped by Elias Pettersson and slid awkwardly in the boards. He was slow to get up and his thumb appeared to be injured when he took his glove off. He did not return to the game and was being taken for x-rays after the game.
After an unsuccessful power play, the Canucks got on the board once back at full strength.
The period continued to get chippy, with a number of penalties on both sides and post-whistle scrums.
The Canucks tied the game late in the period due to a massive blunder by the Jackets. Elvis came way out of the net to try to get to a loose puck, but he didn’t get there on time and the net was empty. Zach Werenski tried to cover but in the confusion Kiefer Sherwood was able to score.
Third Period
The momentum continued after the break. Conor Garland made a pass from behind the net to Pius Suter, whose shot deflected off of Elvis’s skate.
You know that Vancouver had to score a power play goal at some point, right? It came after a Sean Monahan tripping penalty. The kill had one big play, as Severson made a save when Elvis was out of position (much like he did in Edmonton as well). Later in the shift, Quinn Hughes broke his stick on a slapshot but Jake DeBrusk was in position to deflect it between Elvis’s legs.
Suter added an empty net goal to seal the victory.
Final Thoughts
Earlier this season, Elvis seemed calmer and locked-in. Tonight it felt like he was trying to do too much to single-handedly snap the losing streak, and it got him in trouble. He needs to settle down and trust his teammates.
That’s now 12 straight games allowing a power play goal. Something has to be done to fix the PK. One way to start is simply to take fewer penalties. The refs called some real soft ones tonight, but the players need to adjust when that happens.
There was no update on Ivan Provorov after the game. Let’s hope he doesn’t have to miss much, if any, time. If he does, however, the silver lining could be the NHL debut of Denton Mateychuk soon.
Up Next
The Jackets complete their road trip on Sunday in Winnipeg. Puck drop against the Jets is at 6:00 PM EST.