After a long break, the Blue Jackets returned to action against the Lightning. Goal-less for most of the game, the Jackets did manage to get within one goal in the third period. But in the end, the bad team was outmatched by the good team. Here’s what happened.
1st Period
A minute into the game, the Jackets pinned the Lightning in their own zone and managed four or five quality chances.
In the early going, it continued to be mostly Columbus. The home team had ten shot attempts in the first five minutes, and all four forward lines were buzzing.
The middle part of the period quieted down, but then Kent Johnson went to the box for a high-sticking double minor. The Jackets killed off the first penalty, but the Lightning scored on the second. A rebound landed directly on Nick Paul’s stick, and he was able to get the shot off before Elvis could adjust.
TBL PP Goal 1-0: Paul (Hagel) 15:40
After a fast start, the Lightning took charge and dominated the latter part of the first period. 5v5 shot attempts were 25-14 in favor of Tampa Bay, who also had 1.58 expected goals in all situations.
2nd Period
Only 49 seconds into the second period, Severson got caught deep in the zone, and Hagel drew Provorov to him, leading to a Cirelli breakaway. A backhander got past Elvis to make it 2-0.
TBL Goal 2-0: Cirelli (Hagel) 0:48
The game started to get chippy after that goal. There were several big hits on both sides of the ice.
Texier took a high stick from Cernak to give the Jackets their first power play. Unsurprisingly, the two units weren’t able to get much going.
There were back-to-back-to-back embarrassing plays as the Jackets were trying to get back into the game. Jenner had a clear breakaway but was run down from behind by a defenseman before he was able to get a shot off. Then Sillinger and Roslovic had a two-on-one breakaway, but they also managed to not get a shot off. Not to be outdone, Kuraly had the puck on his backhand with the net gaping, but he missed the net.
Sigh.
Then Gudbranson hit the post, and the puck bounced off Vasilevskiy and almost into the net.
With 10 seconds left in the period, Severson went after Raddysh after the Lightning forward threw Gaudreau down to the ice. The two threw a few punches before heading to the locker room. Severson got two extra minutes for cross-checking.
The Jackets had a much better period and led in expected goals after 40 minutes. But this team’s intermittent finishing problem was rearing its ugly head. Even with 40 shot attempts and 2.7 expected goals in all situations, it never really felt like they should have scored.
3rd Period
The Lightning extended their lead to three on the power play to start the third period. A Stamkos rocket from the dot got just under Elvis’ arm.
TBL PP Goal 3-0: Stamkos (Hedman, Kucherov) 0:23
While the Jackets were looking for life, Hedman went to the box for interference on Gudbranson. Voronkov had a good look in front of the net, but he was smothered by Fleury before he could get a clean shot off. That was about it for the power play.
Provorov and Eyssimont got into a fight after a whistle. Eyssimont cross-checked Provorov in the back, and Provorov retaliated by cross-checking the Lightning in the face. Provorov was originally assessed a five-minute major on the play, but it was reduced after review, and the end result was offsetting double minors. Both players left the ice bloody.
The Jackets finally broke through when Gaudreau slid a nice pass to Jenner right in front of the net. The captain slapped it home. Gaudreau was the best Columbus forward for most of the night, so good on him for helping the team get on the board.
CBJ Goal 3-1: Jenner (Gaudreau, Werenski) 12:22
Shortly after the goal, former Jacket Tyler Motte went to the box for slashing against Voronkov. Somehow, the power play managed to get the game within one goal. Gaudreau wound up for a slapshot off a rebound, and Jenner redirected it in front of the net.
CBJ PP Goal 3-2: Jenner (Gaudreau, Marchenko) 15:49
With Elvis pulled and the extra attacker on, the Jackets were all over the Lightning. Two shots narrowly missed the net. Unfortunately, Hagel buried the empty netter to ice the game.
TBL EN Goal 4-2: Hagel (Kucherov, Cirelli) 19:10
Final Thoughts
The advanced stats and the eye test didn’t really line up in this game. The Jackets had 4.04 expected goals in all situations, but it felt like they were lucky to get two. A shutout wouldn’t have been surprising. They played well in short stretches but were out-skilled and outplayed for most of the game.
The Werenski-Boqvist pair looked dangerous. They were definitely high-event but had an overall positive impact on the game for the Blue Jackets.
Elvis did about all he could. He saved 33 of 36 shots and gave up 3 goals versus 3.64 expected. He didn’t have much of a chance at saving any of the Lightning goals. Even on the Stamkos one-timer, he managed to get across the crease quickly, but the puck found a spot anyway.
Provorov had a good night despite losing his temper at the end of the game. More of that kind of play from him should have teams picking up the phone.
Gaudreau was the best Columbus forward in this game, and it wasn’t particularly close. Jenner managed to get two at the end of the game, but Johnny Hockey could have used a lot more support throughout the rest of the game.
Chinakhov left the game in the second period after taking a high cross-check. It didn’t look too serious, so hopefully he’s ok.
Up Next
The Blue Jackets will take on the Senators in Ottawa on Tuesday at 7:00 PM ET.