It was a tall order for the Columbus Blue Jackets, as they were playing a second game in less than 24 hours, on the road, against a rested opponent at the end of a four game homestand. The first 30 minutes were predictably bad, though there was a valiant rally in the third period to make things interesting before falling 4-2.Bemstrom in for Roslovic. Tarasov in net
First Period
Daniil Tarasov returned to the net, while Emil Bemstrom replaced Jack Roslovic on the forward lines.
The scoring kicked off on a Seattle power play after Dmitri Voronkov was called for holding. It was a bit of a soft call, and I feel like Voronkov is not yet getting any benefit of the doubt from the refs due to his size.
The Kraken moved the puck well on their power play, and our old friend Oliver Bjorkstrand got a wide open look from the top of the right circle. Jordan Eberle was positioned well in front of the goal to tap it in. Zach Werenski was a bit aggressive going after the Bjorkstrand shot, but I give more credit to the Kraken than blame on the Jackets’ PK here.
A few minutes later, the Jackets were sloppy with the puck (Alexandre Texier and Damon Severson in particular) in the offensive zone and it led to a Seattle breakaway. Ivan Provorov was left on his own to defend an odd man rush. You know what I always talk about in these situations, so…
Pop quiz: did he defend this play correctly?
No, of course not. He stayed on the puck carrier, Eberle, which left Jared McCann open on the back side with Sean Kuraly unable to catch up in time. I know Provorov was closer to Eberle from the beginning, but at that point I’d like to see him go even more aggressive if he’s committing to that man.
Less than two minutes later, things continued to spiral as Boone Jenner took a hooking penalty. On the kill, the defense did another thing that happens too often lately, and overpursued the puck along the boards. In this case, Provorov was guilty and it left Erik Gudbranson alone on the back side. He actually wasn’t that out of position, but his body flop was unable to block the shot, and it left him out of position to help Tarasov with the rebound. Eberle was there to recover and get the puck around Tarasov.
Sloppy defense, great effort by Eberle, and a lesson for Tarasov about being more in control of rebounds.
That’s goals given up on five straight penalty kills, for those keeping track.
Second Period
In a case of shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic, Pascal Vincent tweaked the lines during the first intermission:
13/38/59
91/4/52
10/11/86
42/7/17
On one hand, clearly changes need to be made after such a lackluster first period. On the other hand, it felt like throwing stuff at the wall to see what would stick. There’s no actual plan to trust here.
Disaster struck as Adam Fantilli had an encounter with McCann. Initially it looked like he had a skate issue, but replays showed McCann’s skate may have cut Fantilli’s left leg. He went down the tunnel and did not return to the game.
It wasn’t until until after the halfway point that the Blue Jackets recorded their first shot on goal of the second period (with 8:49 remaining). The Kraken had six shots on goal of their own at that point.
It looked like the Jackets would have a chance to get back in it as Kuraly drew a penalty, but they gave up a shorthanded breakaway and Zach Werenski slashed Brandon Tanev’s stick to stop it. That neutralized the power play.
Third Period
Early in the third, the Blue Jackets got a solid shift from their makeshift first power play unit (Severson/Gaudreau/Marchenko/Johnson/Tarasov).
After a good fourth line shift, Severson won a puck battle in the neutral zone, Gaudreau passed back to him before changing, and Severson got the puck to Chinny for a slick wrister
Chinny wasn’t done. With just over four minutes remaining, Jenner won a faceoff just outside the offensive zone, and Chinakhov quickly got to the puck and skated it into the middle of the zone himself and unleashed another beauty for his second goal of the night.
Those were the 13th and 14th goal of the season for Chinakhov. He has 11 goals in his last 21 games.
A valiant effort was made in the final minutes with Tarasov pulled, but eventually a turnover led to a Tanev empty-netter with 13 seconds left.
Final Thoughts
After the game, Vincent said Fantilli was “questionable” for the game on Tuesday in St. Louis. Even if he has to miss that one, hopefully the injury is minor enough that he can return after the break. If he misses more weeks than that, it makes an already frustrating season even more aggravating.
Fatigue was certainly an issue with the slow start, but it’s not an excuse for the team making all of the same mistakes they’ve made all season.
Tarasov could have been better, but he only allowed one goal at even strength and he settled down a lot over the final two periods. I don’t think the goalie mattered here with how little offense was generated. Just 1.49 expected goals won’t cut it.
Who had the only expected goals percentage over 50% tonight? Voronkov. Who played the fewest minutes of anyone besides Fantilli? Also Voronkov. Make it make sense. At least he was given the chance to be the center on the top PP unit.
Up Next
On Tuesday, the Blue Jackets will face the Blues in St. Louis. This is the final game prior to the All-Star break and bye week, so there’s no excuse not to empty the tanks and play a full 60 minutes.