The good news is that the Blue Jackets were finally able to get over the goal-scoring hump. The bad news is that it wasn’t enough. After giving up three first-period goals, the early hole they dug themselves was too big to climb out of.
Scoring Summary
A lucky bounce off the boards from a Dewar shot landed right on the stick of Tomasino, who immediately passed it across to Malkin for an easy goal.
PIT Goal 1-0: Malkin (Tomasino, Dewar) 5:28 1st
Off a faceoff, Acciari burned Mateychuk and crashed to the net. Provorov acted like a pylon as Acciari was able to wrap it around Elvis.
PIT Goal 2-0: Acciari (Lizotte) 13:51 1st
The Captain got his first goal of the season when he deflected a shot from Mateychuk.
CBJ Goal 2-1: Jenner (Mateychuk, Provorov) 14:07 1st
A tic-tac-toe play started by Crosby ended with Rakell scooping a shot past a helpless Elvis.
PIT Goal 3-1: Rakell (Rust, Crosby) 14:53 1st
Danforth did what he does best – scoring in the dirty areas. A Severson point shot got blocked, and the puck ended up right in front of the Pittsburgh net. Danforth was able to get just enough of it.
CBJ Goal 3-2: Danforth (Olivier, Severson) 1:35 2nd
Another goal off a faceoff for the Penguins. A timely screen and a quick shot by Imama ended up being the game-winner.
PIT Goal 4-2: Imama (Heinen, Hayes) 8:15 2nd
A failed precise pass by Jack Johnson found Grzelcyk’s stick at the blue line. Crosby deflected the point shot past Elvis. To add insult to injury, Crosby performed a flying knee to Elvis’s head.
PIT Goal 5-2: Crosby (Grzelcyk) 15:31 2nd
It was too little too late, but KJ decided to make a statement goal late in the game. He gathered the puck, skated around the net, and turned just in time to rip a shot over Nedeljkovic’s shoulder.
CBJ Goal 5-3: Johnson (Kuraly, Chinakhov) 3:45 3rd
PIT EN Goal 6-3: Rust (Rakell) 18:03 3rd
Final Thoughts
The Jackets have only earned one point in their last six games. As a near .500 team, they should have earned at least six. With the Canadiens, Senators, and Islanders all playing well as of late, it feels like the playoffs have drifted out of sight. There’s still a chance, but the ship needs to turn around on Monday against the Islanders. With only 13 games left, there’s zero room for error.
It wasn’t for lack of effort. The Jackets had 94 shot attempts at all strengths, beating the Penguins by 39 in that category. They recorded a whopping 24 high-danger scoring chances. Despite scoring three goals in this one, they are still incredibly snake-bit.
The Provorov experiment should be over. He’s been very bad since the trade deadline and hasn’t been the consistent, steady veteran this team needs on the backend. Waddell needs to let him walk over the summer.
Readers didn’t have the privilege of seeing my Jenner bashing session in our writer’s chat from the other day. Tonight, he was the best player for the Jackets, at least on paper. We need to see more of that from the Captain in the remaining games.
Up Next
The Jackets will be visiting the Islanders on Monday night. The puck drops at 7:30 PM EDT.