Kicking off a road trip in Dallas, could the Jackets get a win against one of the Western Conference favorites?
First Period
Good pace to start the contest and the Jackets struck first when the new old second line recovered the puck in the offensive zone on the forecheck. KJ drew two defenders to the wall before hitting Jenner down low, who found Fantilli in the vacated space in near the dot. Fantilli snapped a nasty shot near side over the goalie.
CBJ Goal 1- 0 Fantilli (Jenner, KJ)
The Jackets continued to put pressure on the slower Dallas team quickly re-attacking through the neutral zone with regularity. Mid-way through Chinakhov looked like he was going to put them up two goals off a rebound chance but a sprawling Oettinger managed to get a toe on the shot before kicking the puck somehow clear of the net off the inside of his trailing leg. Chinny got another rush chance a few minutes later but couldn’t beat Otter on the back hand.
The first special teams challenge came with five minutes remaining in the period after Sillinger held a Stars player trying to recover a puck he lost behind the Dallas net. The first Dallas PP unit won control early and took advantage of all the space offered to them by the passive PK structure. The Stars created several great chances but some incredible saves from Elvis led to a kill.
Shortly after the kill the Jackets drew their own penalty rushing through the neutral zone. The first unit had some good chances but the second unit cashed in quickly after Coyle fed Jenner on the back door. Pay no mind to the swinging skate.
CBJ PP Goal 2 – 0 Jenner (Coyle, Severson)
Aside from the scare on the PK, a dominant first period from the road team.
Second Period
A better and more structured start to the period for Dallas with no real chances either way early on. Provorov was called for a holding penalty four minutes in to the period and Dallas had more good puck movement on the ensuing man advantage but (mainly due to Dallas missing on a several chances by a few inches) the kill and Elvis stood strong to earn their second kill of the night.
Back at 5 on 5 the CBJ continued to have the edge until the Stars were able to create a 2 on 1 rush just over midway through. Elvis made a great save on the initial chance but Dallas recovered the puck and were able to work it to Seguin down low for their first of the game.
DAL Goal 2 – 1 Seguin (Blackwell, Erne)
Good chances both ways for the top lines at the close of the period but Elvis and Otter met the challenge to keep it 2-1. The Blue Jackets had 75% of the shot share in the first period but Dallas countered with a good second period controlling 68% of the shots.
Third Period
Dallas carried their momentum from late in the second into the third and controlled play early on. The Seguin line in particular continued to create great chances, but Elvis was better. The CBJ started to regain the momentum after a strong shift from the top line before the 4th line executed a great breakout. ZAR took the puck clean off the wall and found Chinkhov splitting the Stars defense in the neutral zone; Yegor then skated the puck into the zone creating space for an aggressive Mateychuk who received the pass and uncorked a beautiful shot past Otter to restore the 2 goal lead.
CBJ Goal 3 – 1 Mateychuk (Chinakhov, ZAR)
The Mateychuk goal stole the wind from underneath the Stars’ sails and leveled out the play. The CBJ returned to the Power Play not long after and a wonderful entry attempt by the first unit ended when Voronkov powered a rush shot through Oettinger.
CBJ PP Goal 4 – 2 Voronkov (Monahan, Marchenko)
Dallas pulled the goalie early in this one but KJ quickly hit the empty net to clinch the game.
CBJ EN Goal 5 – 2 KJ (Unassissted)
Final Thoughts
Special teams and Elvis Merzlikins were the stars in this one, just like we all expected. Elvis didn’t have to be special early on but he rose to the increasing challenge in the second and early third and was great on the quality chances the PK still surrendered. The strength of Elvis in net allowed the team to use the power play to put this one out of reach, supporting the good work at 5v5.
The reunited line of KJ-Fantilli-Jenner continues to look good and its a wonder this wasn’t so for opening night. Monahan and Chinkahov recorded their first points of the season and KJ has scored in back to back games. The Severson-Provorov pair continues to put in good minutes which is a major key to unlocking the upside of this squad. If you watch Severson he’s been aggressive and successful at challenging play at the blue lines and center red lines, let’s hope he can keep it up.
To my eye Cole Sillinger has struggled in the early season. He has failed to find chemistry with his teammates to push play forward and took another penalty in the offensive zone today. He dragged down the second line earlier in the season and couldn’t establish the cycle tonight despite good efforts from Olivier and Coyle. I’d consider switching him and Chinakhov if it continues to look like this.
This is a big win for the Jackets to start the road trip, especially considering Dallas is one of the pre-season favorites for the Cup. Sure, Duchene missing this one might’ve had an impact but playoff teams take advantage of those opportunities during the regular season.
Up Next
The Blue Jackets welcome the Capitals to Columbus on Friday night at 7pm EST