First Period
– Scary, weird moment three minutes in when Brandon Dubinsky missed his hit on Henrik Sedin and crunched linesman Tony Sericolo into the boards. The official gathered himself on the ice for a few minutes before play resumed..
– Jacob Markstrom stoned Brandon Saad twice when No. 20 got loose bringing the puck into the zone. Saad has some unreal speed and the play happened following a save from Bobrovsky on the other end.
– CBJ took the game’s first power play at 6:28 (too many men) and needed exactly seven seconds to take the lead. Ryan Johansen worked the puck down to Boone Jenner, whose backhand pass to Scott Hartnell bounced off Markstrom back to the waiting No. 38. Jenner went high to give the CBJ a 1-0 lead.
– Cody Goloubef gave an ill-advised cross-check to Brandon Sutter after it looked like the Canuck tripped Sergei Bobrovsky. Johansen went to the box with Goloubef after giving Sutter some more love and Sutter himself sat for two (interference), resulting in a 5-on-4 power play with about 12:30 left.
– Alexander Wennberg picked off a soft pass and tested Markstrom shorthanded. Good vision and hustle from the sophomore while down a man. Penalty killed, no shots.
– Jackets peppered Markstrom while creating open space in the high slot midway through the period, but Jannik Hansen found himself alone in front of Bob to pot his fourth of the year with 9:39 left in the period. Former Jacket Derek Dorsett left the ice around this time as well and returned with about two minutes left.
– The seams began to show late in the period. After some swampy play from both sides, Daniel Sedin struck to give Vancouver a 2-1 lead at the 17:12 mark. Jack Johnson wasted little time making a boneheaded roughing penalty against former Jacket (really?) Adam Cracknell for a Vancouver power play.
– Jared McCann hooked Nick Foligno on a scoring chance as the penalty expired and the Jackets scored on the ensuing faceoff—again. Jack Johnson finished a cross-crease pass from Jenner to tie the game with 16 seconds before the horn. His second, the team’s second. 2-2. What a beautiful feed by Boone Jenner.
– Two quick power play goals in 15 seconds for the CBJ on their only two chances. That’s a great sign for the rest of the game.
Second Period
– Saad created another excellent scoring chance on a speedy zone entry similar to his one in the first. Markstrom stopped him on the doorstep and William Karlsson’s backhanded chances found Canuck bodies as well.
– Bobrovsky made a diving blocker save, holding steady when the Canucks threated. At the other end, Markstrom stopped shot after shot while swimming around in his crease as the Jackets continued to throw shots at the end. Bob hasn’t looked in Vezina form with a ton of consistency this season…and then he reminds you that he can still do this:
– With only a few minutes left tin the second…Jared Boll has been in front of the net a lot tonight. The fourth line made their presence felt from a group who normally doesn’t see a whole lot of time under John Tortorella.
– Vancouver’s Matt Bartowski headed to the box at 17:36 for tripping Boone Jenner. No goals despite a slew of shots and a fair amount of sustained pressure. Bob also made a strong stop on a Bo Horvat shorthanded fly-by.
– Columbus generated 22 shots in the second period (to Vancouver’s seven). Not bad. David Savard ended the frame by launching a cannon into the glove of Markstrom as the horn sounded. 2-2.
Third Period
– The Jackets did not leave the Canucks’ zone for much of the early going. Markstrom gaffed a pass to Columbus and stopped the puck microns before a wide-open shot crossed the line. He covered the puck soon after and Willie Desjardins called timeout.
– Dorsett found a lane to Bobrovsky and drew a holding penalty on Jack Johnson, sending the Canucks to the power play 7:02 into the period.
– FINALLY. Cam Atkinson broke the deadlock and scored the Jackets’ first shorthanded goal, after collecting a great center-ice from David Savard and walking in on Markstrom…a couple dekes later, the Jackets took a 3-2 lead with 11:59 left in the game.
-…That was short lived. Jannik Hansen flung a puck to the doorstep for Henrik Sedin for a goal just 2:04 after Atkinson’s tally to tie things back up again, 3-3.
– Brandon Sutter made it 4-3 Vancouver with 5:08 left, zooming around Ryan Murray and throwing it past Bob on the backhand. Murray looked like he was standing still and showed some dissatisfaction back on the Columbus bench.
– One nice moment: an official taking out Alex Burrows with a well-placed puck screen. Sure there are a lot of NHL zebras who wouldn’t mind knocking down Burrows:
– Henrik Sedin wrapped things up with an empty-netter at 18:21. Jackets lose, 5-3.
Final Thoughts
– Columbus throws 45 shots at a guy making his first start since March and come up short by two goals.Tough sledding.
– Alex Wennberg played a team-low 8:42, part of that fourth line that made some noise a couple of times but still fights for time under Torts. Brandon Dubinsky logged 19:04 and Vancouver’s pregame coverage suggested he’s stepped into the de facto captain role and that might be squeezing Foligno.
– Story of the season: A few good things (highlight reel saves, offensive pressure, two power play goals) and long stretches of that ol’ “hardcore hockey” give way to too many points for the other team. Three goals in the third for Vancouver…that’s how you lose a hockey game.
– 4-12-0 with a Friday/Saturday back-to-back, first at Pittsburgh and then hosting Arizona. Jackets could be facing three straight losses if they can’t pull out a road win at CONSOL.