A bit of a different feel in the broadcast tonight with John Davidson filling in with Jody calling the Amazon game tonight. He’s an established veteran broadcaster but it’s strange after so many years in the front office. Elvis gets a tough test in his return to the crease after some time away with a hand injury.
First Period
Did not take long for the action to start in this one. Ninety seconds in Elvis played the puck from behind his net but collided with an out of control Viktor Arvidsson. A stare down from Elvis afterwards, but no injuries and Columbus gets an early PP. The top unit got to work, won a puck battle deep, and cycled the puck around the zone until Marchenko fed a pass to Monahan in the slot who redirected it past Skinner for the jacket first PP goal in quite a while.
CBJ PP Goal 1-0: Monahan (Marchenko, Werenski) 2:18
McDavid got tripped up on his first shift and would not return to this game.
Elvis looking sharp here early with a couple of notable saves on Hyman and Bouchard. Halfway in Sillinger picked up the puck in the neutral zone after a terrific stick lift from Pyyhtia. The ensuing possession would find Sillinger behind the net hitting Fantilli out front who beat Skinner short side for his 3rd of the year.
CBJ Goal 2-0: Fantilli (Sillinger) 10:44
Continued strong play from the Jackets led to a Fantilli zone entry and dump in. He followed the puck around the boards and worked with Werenski to win the puck battle and find Sillinger at the point. Cole fired a quick shot that stayed low and beat Skinner five-hole.
CBJ Goal 3-0: Sillinger (Unassisted) 14:32
The remainder of the period did not see much 5v5 action. The Jackets got caught with too many men on the ice 14 minutes in. The beginning of the Oilers’ PP featured a good save on Arvidsson and the new FDSNO broadcast erroneously displaying a “your live event is delayed” banner for 30 seconds. Severson made it a 2-man advantage for the Oilers with 40 seconds remaining after holding Hyman’s stick. A good block from JJ on Draisatl, a fortunate crossbar hit on a Bouchard one-timer, and the 5-on-3 was over. Hyman got caught shortly after with a hold of his own on Marchenko to end the 2nd Oilers man advantage and start 4 on 4 play. The 4 on 4 was uneventful and the first period came to a close with the Jackets up a man, and with a 3 goal lead.
The absence of McDavid loomed large going into the intermission, but this was another stellar first period from the Jackets against a team coming off an overtime game the night before.
Second Period
Edmonton killed the abbreviated CBJ PP to start without much issue. Shortly after, Fantilli takes a high stick near center ice that did some damage to his face. A four minute power play followed that was not great. The best chance was an Oilers’ shorthanded rush that Elvis handled cleanly. Evason put out the 3rd line to end the power play and they began a long sequence in the offensive zone. Tremendous heavy pressure from the 3rd and 4th lines contributed to about a minute of o-zone time before Olivier found a loose puck in front of the net that he put home to get his 4th(!) of the season.
CBJ Goal 4-0: Olivier (JVR) 14:32
The remainder of the period was characterized by Blue Jackets penalties. Provorov with a high stick 7 minutes in, Sillinger with a trip 12 minutes in, and Kuraly with a trip 17 minutes in. Edmonton’s power play was clearly missing McDavid but credit the PK for consistently challenging entries and not letting Draisaitl or Bouchard get quality looks.
Third Period
Edmonton began the 3rd with quite a bit more jump than they had previously shown. A couple of poor plays from from Werenski lead to two different Edmonton rush chances that they couldn’t convert. 15 minutes in Fantilli took a pass from Sillinger down low and threw a great pass back across the slot to Pyyhtia who hit the empty net for his first goal!
CBJ Goal 5-0: Pyyhtia (Fantilli, Sillinger) 15:15
A minute later Monahan showed great patience carrying the puck in during a line change. Instead of dumping the puck in, he worked it down into the offensive zone drawing the Edmonton defense deep and allowing the help to arrive. Chinakhov ripped a shot from high in the zone later in the possession that missed wide but bounced off the back wall right to Monahan for the put-back into an empty net for his second of the night.
CBJ Goal 6-0: Monahanov (Chinakhov, Marchenko) 16:39
With 50 seconds remaining in the game Christiansen received a rather soft minor for cross-checking RNH. Edmonton converted on the powerplay with 26 seconds left to end the shutout bid for Elvis.
Final Thoughts
First off, I have to admit that it was great having Davidson in the booth. His analysis was quick and insightful, and he was able to provide some organizational chatter in the 3rd period when not much was going on. I look forward to his next call.
Have to start with the Elvis who was sharp right away and looked much more comfortable playing the puck in this one. He stopped 31 of 32 shots, and was the best penalty killer in a game that featured six of them. I do not think this team needs to designate a starter, let the two rotate and keep each other fresh. Boston showed the formula with Ullmark/Swayman (not that these two are those guys).
What a joy it is to have a system that allows that players to turn defense into offense. When this team recovers the puck in the d zone, not only are they looking to move the puck with possession, but there are consistently players in position to receive it. Provorov carried a heavy burden in this one with the PK time, the only real knocks were the penalties he, Severson, and Christiansen took.
The top line of Chinakhov-Monahanov-Marchenko was reunited and looked as good as ever. I wanted to see how they would hold up against McDavid, alas, it was not to be. Good game from Pyyhtia tonight. Tuna and Fantilli (2 pts) have developed some chemistry and Sillinger (3 pts) worked well on that line. The bottom six is playing great hockey right now. Danforth and Olivier are menaces on the puck and making nice plays in the offensive zone. JVR and Labanc are quality players who can look great in a limited role and are allowing Kuraly a chance to not focus entirely on trying to make nothing happen. I’m not going to say the Jackets have what they need at the top end of the roster to truly compete, but look at what having NHL players who have shown previous scoring success can do in a depth role. It’s reminiscent of what Gagner once brought to this club.The Jackets have scored 6 goals in half their games thus far, and while the opposing goaltending may not be the best, they are generating good opportunities. This isn’t a team just throwing pucks at the net and getting lucky.
The penalties have to be cleaned up. The refs made it clear early on that everything was going to be called and they stuck to it. The power play also continues to not dazzle, but with Voronkov and KJ hopefully not too far away, there is hope. I would like to see Labanc on the 2nd unit.
Congrats, Tuna.
Up Next
The Jackets welcome the Patrick Roy coached Islanders to Nationwide Arena on Wednesday at 7pm.