Whew, where do I start with this one? The Columbus Blue Jackets won their second shootout game in a row, in a wild 7-6 affair at Nationwide Arena that featured highs and lows on special teams and two different multi-goal comebacks.
As Mathieu Olivier said after the game, it was “exciting for the fans…not for the coaches.”
First Period
It felt like we would be in a for a long night after the Vancouver Canucks won the opening period 3-0. Two of the goals came on the power play, and when the Blue Jackets got their own power play (thanks to a scrum that occurred after the second goal), they couldn’t make anything happen and they sent the Canucks back to their own power play thanks to a Damon Severson penalty immediately back at even strength.
Ironically, the Jackets did have the possession edge at 5v5, but none of their 5 high danger shot attempts could get past Kevin Lankinen.
Second Period
We should know better by now that this team does not quit. Just 34 seconds into the middle frame, Boone Jenner got to the crease and deflected a Denton Mateychuk shot to put the Jackets on the board. Kirill Marchenko added to the fun with a shot in the slot, fed by a great pass from Sean Monahan (feels great to have him back, doesn’t it?). Dante Fabbro then scored on a long, screened shot of his own and with 32 minutes to go, the game was tied again.
Not long after, the Jackets got a golden chance to take the lead when Elias Pettersson (not that Elias Pettersson) caught Boone Jenner with a high stick and was assessed for a double minor. In the first minute of the power play, the Canucks scored on a shorthanded breakaway by Kiefer Sherwood and Tyler Myers. In the 4 minutes of the man advantage, the Jackets managed just 3 shots on goal, and surrendered one (which was a goal).
Third Period
Vancouver padded the lead with a breakaway goal from Aatu Raty. Mateychuk responded 21 seconds later with a gorgeous snipe. With under five minutes left to play, Adam Fantilli drew a tripping penalty on Linus Karlsson. The power play woke up with Jenner’s second goal of the night, another deflection, this time from a Marchenko shot. 22 seconds later, the Identity Line (with Cole Sillinger returning to the lineup and taking the spot of Zach Aston-Reese) gave the team the lead thanks to Mathieu Olivier’s 17th (!) goal of the season.
Just 22 seconds later, Raty responded with his second goal of the night, and the game went to overtime. Both teams earned a much-needed point in their respective wild card races.
Overtime/Shootout
The Canucks mostly controlled play during the overtime period, though they got away with some missed penalties, including Quinn Hughes for interference and Sherwood for tripping Elvis. The latter did get a whistle to stop play, but no penalty somehow. The contact was outside of the crease so it would not have been goalie interference, but it was certainly a trip.
Just one of the shootout attempts was successful, and it was the first one. Kent Johnson got the winner with a nifty top-shelf backhand.
Watch the full highlights here.
Final Thoughts
Shoutout to New Albany product Kiefer Sherwood. He had a three point night and added 10 hits to his already record-breaking season in that stat.
I was starting to feel like perhaps Mateychuk was hitting a rookie wall. Instead, his plays tonight showed a player who is starting to gain confidence as a professional. That shot is legitimate.
The new fourth line of ZAR/Kuraly/Kunin played less than 10 minutes and were the only line that lost the possession battle…and by a lot. With tomorrow being a back-to-back, at least one of James van Riemsdyk or Yegor Chinkhov should return in place of one or two of those guys. Obviously the team didn’t need help scoring tonight, but it’s not like they were helping on defense either.
This win put the Jackets back in the second wild card spot…for now. The Rangers can still leapfrog with a win on the West Coast tonight.
Up Next
The Jackets are on a plane to Ottawa where they will play at 7:00 PM EDT on Saturday night. The Senators are in the first wild card spot, 6 points ahead of the Jackets, but the two teams play each other three times. The Jackets can make up those points if they can win all three of those in regulation.