After a tough loss at home in OT to Anaheim, could the Jackets regroup against a cup favorite less than 24 hours later?
First Period
Penalties abound at the beginning of this contest. Svechnikov went to the box one minute in after a high/late hit on JVR and Olivier went to the box for a crosscheck after the whistle five minutes in. Both of the kills were up to the task early. Seven minutes in to the contest, Jack Johnson headed to the bench in some difficulty. A review of the play showed Kotkaniemi got a stick under the visor of JJ to give the Jackets a four minute power play. The power play had some good moments, but a poor choice by Sillinger on a zone entry sprung the Carolina PK on a 2 on 1 that Aho put behind Elvis.
CAR Goal 0-1: Aho SH (Jarvis) 8:28
Good chances for both teams as they settled into 5v5 play after the penalties, but Carolina struck again when Jordan Staal made a power move to carry the puck behind the net and throw it out front for Carrier. Three defenders in the area couldn’t prevent the pass.
CAR Goal 0-2: Carrier (Staal, Martinook) 19:08
Odd period. Thought the Jackets generally looked alright but 0-3 on the PP, SH goal against, and down 2 on the scoreboard is about as bad as it gets results-wise.
Second Period
Jack Johnson did return in the first period after taking a stick to the eye, but he did not come out for the 2nd period. Honestly, there were shots but almost no scoring chances in this period for a long time. Canes went to the PP halfway through, but the PK met the challenge. Finally, late in the period Marchenko got the puck down low and battled to get it through to Voronkov in front for the quality chance.
CBJ Goal 1-2: Voronkov (Marchenko, Provorov) 15:52
Crushingly, ninety seconds later, Jordan Martinook nicely re-directed a long shot into the net.
CAR Goal 1-3: Martinook (Staal, Orlov) 17:16
Evason challenged for goaltender interference, but the refs did not see anything, and I agree with the officials. The Hurricanes confidently controlled the puck on the ensuing power play and Jack Roslovic buried a nice feed into the back of the net. HOWEVER, Evason and the Jackets challenged again, this time for a missed hand pass on the prior faceoff. Credit to the video guys, this was a great find and the goal was overturned. The remainder of the Carolina PP was lost when Jarvis got the hook for high sticking Provorov. Monahan rung a shot off the side of an empty net in the closing seconds, but the period ended 3-1 with some holdover PP time to start the third.
Third Period
No success on the remaining balance of the man advantage as the power play falls to 0 for 4 on the night. Seven minutes into the period, Kotkaniemi timed a shot perfectly with a Hurricane forward crossing in front of Elvis. The Columbus goalie couldn’t find the puck and it beat him high glove side.
CAR Goal 1-4: Kotkaniemi (Necas, Walker) 6:19
Labanc took a puck to the chin and went back to the locker room for repairs, he joined Jack Johnson as the second Jacket to retire from this game with an upper body injury. The Jackets had another power play opportunity late in the period but could not convert. Not much life in the team after that, game ends 4-1 Carolina.
Final Thoughts
If this game had happened last season, I would have been happy with the result. The Jackets matched the Hurricanes for most of the play at even strength and had a fair amount of offensive possession. But this is not last year and this game highlighted the difference in a team with deep playoff aspirations and a young team learning to win.
Carolina brought up a goalie on a PTO who wore his Rochester Americans gear and they mitigated nearly every quality chance Columbus tried to create. The Jackets created opportunities in this game, but there was always a defender in position to block the shot or get a stick in the way to prevent a chance from being realized. Conversely, the Hurricanes made smart, patient plays to draw Columbus defenders out of position and they leapt at the opportunities. Similar amount of shots for each team, drastic difference in quality. Carolina with a consistent edge around 55% to 45% of shot attempts, unblocked shot attempts, and scoring chances, but 65% of the xG in all situations. And this is with the Blue Jackets having 10 minutes of Power play time to their 4 minutes.
Carolina is a good team and deserved to win, but if the CBJ power play isn’t outscored 1-0 on 5 attempts, the end result of this one could’ve been much different. The CBJ video room also needs to take a strong look at their process for when to challenge for goalie interference. The great catch on the missed hand pass saved them from being penalized again for the failed challenge.
Up Next
The road trip continues with a trip to Tampa Bay Tuesday. The puck drops at 7 PM EST.