A mixed group of Blue Jackets made their way to St. Louis for the third preseason game. The team the Jackets brought had the difficult task of playing against a good number of NHL regulars, including Stanley Cup winning goaltender Jordan Binnington and former Blue Jacket Brandon Saad. The ultimate result was a loss, but there were several positives that came out of the game.
Summary
1st Period
The Jackets were quick to attack the net, registering early quality shots from Sillinger, Mateychuk, Ceulemans, and Meyer. But it was the Blues that struck first – Vrana put home a nice backhander immediately after a faceoff.
1-0 STL Goal: Vrana (unassisted)
Bemstrom made his first noticeable appearance of the preseason scoring the Jackets’ first goal of the night off the rush. A quick and surprising release found top cheese over Jordan Binnington’s glove. Emil needs to score more goals like that if he wants a top nine spot in Columbus.
1-1 CBJ Goal: Bemstrom (Texier)
A weird sequence of events led to another Blues goal. McKown and TFW went hard into the corner in the defensive zone and both ended up in a heap. The Blues pushed the puck down the ice and tucked the puck into the net with Brandon Saad sitting inside the net.
2-1 STL Goal: Radcliffe (Saad, Schenn)
Vincent challenged the goal, but lost. The Blues scored on the power play with a bouncing puck one timer from the slot.
3-1 STL Goal: Sundqvist (Ritchie, Hayes)
Knazko went off for delay of game almost immediately after the power play goal, but the Jackets were able to stop the bleeding by killing this one off. Texier and Blankenburg both looked great on the kill.
2nd Period
The Jackets went to the power play for the first time of the night when Vrana went to the box for hooking. No goals, but there were two quality shots and post by Malatesta.
Dunne and Ritchie faced off with their fists in an old fashioned bout. The fight ended with Dunne fully removing Ritchie’s jersey and pads. Ritchie received a game misconduct for not having his pads and jersey properly tied. That’s a new one.
Another power play and more good cycling, but no dice.
The score remained 3-1, but the Jackets continued to play well and led in shots 22-10.
3rd period
Lots of back and forth through the middle of the period, but nothing to show for it for the Jackets.
They got their chance to get back into it on the power play with under seven minutes to go. The goalies continued to be the big difference in the game as Malcolm Subban made a terrific glove save on a Bemstrom slapper. Then the Blues got an interference call to give Columbus a five on three advantage.
Bemstrom got his second of the game on a one timer during the power play. The Jackets did a good job of cycling the puck and Bemstrom got several chances, finally burying one to bring it within one.
3-2 CBJ Goal: Bemstrom (Mateychuk, Texier)
A good effort during the empty net didn’t result in the game tying goal. Blues win.
Standouts
Mateychuk – If you didn’t watch the game, it’s hard to articulate how good Mateychuk was. He defended very well and single handedly broke up several Blues scoring chances. He made crisp entry passes and quick zone exits. He led all defenseman on both teams in 5v5 CF% and xGF%. His assist on the second Bemstrom goal was Werenski-like. At this point, I’m wondering if he could push for an NHL spot.
Bemstrom – He scored two goals and looked less hesitant with the puck. Can he finally carry this play over in the regular season?
Texier – It was great to see Texier continue his solid play away from Fantilli and Laine. He was very good on the PK and often looked like the best Columbus forward. His ability to drive possession was sorely missed last season.
Meyer/Foudy – At least for the moment, it looks like these two may be the two fourth line wingers, especially with Olivier hurt. They looked better than Robinson, who struggled defensively. Foudy, in particular, looked confident and engaged, picking up where he left off late last season.
Sillinger – Silly was very good in the defensive zone and made several noticeable plays exiting the defensive zone and driving play through the neutral zone. He looked engaged all night. He also won 8 of 13 faceoffs.
Musings
- Don’t pay too much attention to the score. The Blues’ goalies were the difference despite the Jackets dominating possession for most of the game. As a unit, the Jackets played very well and looked like a structured team.
- There was an obvious emphasis on playing faster and possessing the puck in the offensive zone. I was impressed with how much zone time they were able to muster against NHL regulars.
- The slot was defended very well. There were several moments where it looked like St. Louis was going to get a very good scoring chance in close just for a stick or body to disrupt the play at the last second.
- This group looked like a team in this game, not a bunch of individuals skating around trying to make something happen like we saw last season. Progress.
The preseason continues Saturday in Buffalo at 3:00pm ET.