Two nights after a prospect-heavy roster got blown out by a more experienced opponent in Buffalo, the Columbus Blue Jackets brought more NHL reps to their home opener against the St. Louis Blues (who brought their own top line). In the 3-0 win, however, there were still plenty of prospects who left a strong impression.
First Period
It was a bit of a tentative start for both teams, with the Blues spending more time on the attack. In the back half of the period, however, the Jackets started to find their legs and were able to draw first blood late. After Kent Johnson set up Denton Mateychuk for a missed shot, the line was able to regroup and try again. It was a gorgeous pass by Johnson across the ice, and a pinpoint shot through traffic by Mateychuk.
The really important thing here is that pass. When you pass across the “royal road” (the imaginary line starting from the goal and running up between the circles) you can get the defense and goalie out of position as they adjust their line of sight. If I’m being picky I’d like to see Mateychuk get the shot off sooner; a better opponent in a real game won’t give him that much time and space. On the other hand, you can see his vision and hockey IQ to wait for Gavin Brindley to set a screen in front of the goalie, and for the defenseman to move just enough to open a window.
Second Period
In the second period, the ice tilted and the Blue Jackets controlled the flow of play for most of it. Their first power play opportunity wasn’t successful, but they produced three shots on goal and you got some idea as to which players may fill which roles. Without Zach Werenski in the lineup, Damon Severson served as the defenseman up top. This may make him the leader for that spot on PP2. Stay tuned. James van Riemsdyk parked in front of the net and Kirill Marchenko played the all-too-critical bumper role in the middle. He also took the faceoff – also something to watch. Kent Johnson was on the right half-wall while Yegor Chinakhov is an ideal fit for the left circle.
Bob McElligott mentioned something during this power play that I agree with: Johnny Gaudreau helped the power play immensely by being able to enter the zone with control. Kent Johnson did that tonight. I think he is the player on the team whose skill set is closest to Johnny’s. He has a big opportunity to step up here.
You need to be good, but it also helps to be lucky and that’s how the next goal happened, back at even strength. Ivan Provorov fired a shot at the net, where it deflected off of Sean Kuraly’s skate. Kirill Marchenko used his strength to shift behind a Blues player and tap in the rebound from the back door. You need to see this from multiple angles:
Third Period
In the third period, the Blue Jackets put themselves into trouble by getting TOO aggressive. Most of their penalties in the first two periods involved offsetting roughing penalties. No harm, right? In the middle of the third period, however, they spent a lot of time on the penalty kill. First, Erik Gudbranson got a roughing penalty all on his own for retaliating after the whistle for a (clean) hit on Jake Christiansen.
A few minutes after that expired, Chinakhov made a good effort to battle for the puck at the offensive blue line, but got tied up with Hunter Skinner and earned a double-minor for high-sticking. Luckily Sean Kuraly showed his typical hustle on the kill and drew a holding penalty 23 seconds later to bring the game back to 4-on-4.
Unfortunately Luca Del Belluz took a hooking penalty a minute and a half later. This is one that looked like tired legs were starting to set in. There were 26 seconds of 4-on-3 then a full 1:34 of 5-on-3. Kuraly, Owen Sillinger (!), and Kent Johnson (!!) along with Gudbranson and Ivan Provorov did solid work during that stretch, until LDBB and Chinakhov came out of the box within seconds of each other.
Johnson (with help from Gudbranson) scored an empty-netter to seal the victory.
Stick Taps
Evason-style hockey
This team had high energy and played aggressive, assertive hockey all night. They battled for pucks. They finished checks and blocked shots. They seemed difficult to play against, and that’s what I expect and want from a Dean Evason-coached team. His Wild teams were a pain in the ass and hopefully the Jackets can become that as well. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for skill, however. The structure meant that they didn’t allow much action in front of the net on defense, but made a point of getting into the slot and crease on offense and letting the skill of guys like Mateychuk and Marchenko capitalize.
Granted, this is just one preseason game. We need to see if this can be sustained through shuffling lineups, and if it can carry over into the regular season.
Elvis Merzlikins
A big part of the team’s success this season will come down to the health and consistency of the goaltenders. Elvis in particular has been on the hotseat for his mercurial nature and his immovable contract. For tonight, at least, he did his job. The defense made it easy – just 19 shots faced in 40 minutes – but he made some key saves early. Zach Sawchenko added another 12 saves in relief duty in the third period. As I said, much of that was on the penalty kill, yet he only faced 3 shots at a man disadvantage.
Luca Pinelli
Several of the junior players have already been cut from camp, but I can see why Pinelli is still here. He’s a small player but he didn’t shy away from battling for pucks. He’s not physical like James Malatesta, but he’s smart with how he uses his body and his stick. He’ll certainly return to the Ottawa 67s of the OHL, where he’s the captain, but his stock rose a lot in my mind tonight.
Denton Mateychuk
His first period goal was a beaut, but he also had a 70.59 CF% at 5v5. That was the best among CBJ defensemen tonight. He’s making it very difficult to send him back to Cleveland.
JVR-LDBB-KJ
This line had a CF% of 86.67 (13 shot attempts for, 2 against) and a 91.12 xGF%. Pretty good! I already said enough about how good KJ was. New addition van Riemsdyk is a steady veteran presence. Del Bel Belluz is making a case that he can hang with NHL talent.
There were a number of AHL/NHL tweeners in the lineup tonight who impressed: LDBB, Malatesta, Brindley, the Other Sillinger, Mikael Pyyhtia, Jake Gaudet. With Justin Danforth’s wrist injury, there’s another spot open on the forward corps on opening day. It’s great to see so many players step up and take advantage of that chance. Keep a close eye on this position battle over the remaining 6 preseason games.
Up Next
The Jackets will travel to the nation’s capital on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. to face the Washington Capitals.