After giving up three quick goals to start the game on Thursday, the Columbus Blue Jackets got off to a much better start in this game, scoring in just 15 seconds:
Despite getting a key assist on that goal, Adam Boqvist subsequently took a hit and left the game with an injury. Poor guy can’t stay healthy, and now it’s likely that the Jackets will have to call up yet another player from Cleveland (David Jiricek?)
From there, the first two periods were mostly sleepy, with the Jackets not creating much and doing just enough to hold on to the lead. After such a rough start on Tuesday, Elvis stepped up big time late in the second period to keep the clean sheet:
Early in the third, the Blue Jackets got what I thought would be a good insurance goal. It’s the first power play goal since February 29, and naturally it came from the red-hot Alex Nylander.
Remember how a condition of the Emil Bemstrom trade was the pick from Pittsburgh improving if Bemstrom scored 6 goals this season with the Pens? Well, he’s still sitting at just 1 goal (scored in his first game post-trade) but Nylander has already hit that 6 goal mark.
While the Blue Jackets did well to control possession in the final period, Ottawa managed to capitalize on a few opportunities and get back into the game. The first came on a play where, for the millionth time, the Blue Jackets defense lost track of a player on the back door. Over seven minutes into the third, this was Ottawa’s first shot on goal of the period.
Tim Stutzle then tied it. This was another goal which saw the ice flip. Kirill Marchenko and Cole Sillinger attempted to intercept the pass but missed, and then Erik Gudbranson left Stutzle open on the back side.
Overtime/Shootout
The Blue Jackets won the opening faceoff and managed to control possession for the first two minutes…and didn’t manage a single shot attempt.
With 2:00 left in OT, Alexandre Texier tripped Giroux to stop a breakaway, after a big Stutzle hit in the neutral zone knocked Marchenko off of the puck. Elvis was able to step up and hold on to get the game to the shootout.
For the Jackets, Gaudreau and Marchenko were stuffed by Anton Forsberg, while Texier managed to get a snipe past the blocker. For the Senators, Stutzle scored first with a shot through the five hole, then Giroux won it with a surprise slap shot.
Final Thoughts
It was critical for Elvis Merzlikins to have a good response after the disastrous start on Tuesday. He delivered, with a .944 save percentage and 1.72 goals saved above expected. Unfortunately Anton Forsberg was a little better, with .946 save percentage and 1.92 goals saved above expected.
Nice to see a power play goal. They finally figured out that getting the puck inside is a recipe for success.
The third period was really good overall. It was the kind of sustained pressure you want to see with a lead. But…there were a few mistakes and they ended up in the back of the net. Just like what happened throughout the losing streak in November.
How is the defense still so bad at defending the back door? There was also a moment on the 4v3 kill in OT where Gudbranson tried clearing the puck through the middle of the ice, like he did on his own goal against Pittsburgh. Luckily Ivan Provorov was able to make a key block to keep the game alive. There are these basic, bonehead mistakes from the defense in every single game, that you should not see from any NHLer, but certainly not this late into a season. We can’t replace Steve McCarthy with a proper coach soon enough.
Up Next
The home stand continues with the Blue Jackets hosting the Sharks on Saturday for the first leg of a home back-to-back.