Rather than a traditional recap for the game against Washington last night, I am going to break down pieces of the Blue Jackets game and then talk about the players that impressed and those who made a mess (if I haven’t already). For those who missed the game, the Blue Jackets lost a stunner in overtime, after taking a 3-2 lead with less than six minutes to play. The loss stings, despite gaining a point.
Shooting: To begin, shot production was great in the first period, with Columbus outshooting Washington 12-7. Yet like many games we’ve sen this season, those twelve shots failed to produce a goal. Based on the combined 13 shots from the second and third period producing three goals (good goals at that), it remains a cause for concern. Rather than focusing on getting the puck on net, maybe they should focus on getting good shots with more traffic in front.
Goaltending was pretty solid. Defensive gaps were the major contributors of at least a couple goals, but the Bobrovsky of last year would have bailed them out on at least one of them. Bob made 30 of 34 saves, good for .889 save percentage. As I had found last week, the Blue Jackets have never won a game where Bobrovsky is below .900, and the streak continues after last night. If you review all four goals scored on him, I’m certain he’ll say he wanted at least two of the four back. An attempt to cover on the Carlson goal, a misplayed puck behind the net, off the arm on the Grabovski goal, and again off the other arm on the Ovechkin goal. Not his outrageously highlight reel self.
On to the defense. A terrible decision by Nikitin on the Carlson goal and a brutal missed check by Wisniewski was the main cause for the overtime goal play to continue. Looking back at the game tying goal for Washington, it is once again Wisniewski with the puck in his feet, seemingly lost as to where it is, and who he should be covering (although that’s more of a tough break). For as well as the defense shows they can play, it’s getting harder and harder to tolerate the massive mistakes that lead to easy opposition goals, and I believe the defense is largely at fault. If they can learn to stay engaged for sixty minutes, Columbus will have a much better chance of staying in games.
To the offense, three individuals once again come to mind. Dubinsky, Atkinson, and Johansen. What incredible production we’ve seen from these three guys, arguably the Blue Jackets ‘second’ forward line. Hard working in all areas of the ice, going to the net with purpose, and making smart plays with the puck. These are things that all other Columbus forward lines should be striving for, and I believe if they worked even somewhat as hard as this line, they’d find success. Special shout out to Atkinson, on the breakaway off a fantastic pass dump pass by Dubinsky, scoring a gem of a goal through the five hole. I love seeing him score highlight reel goals, and his skill set seems to be built for it. Stats for concern: Umberger/Anisimov/Gaborik combined for -2, no points, and 10 shots on goal. Any sort of offensive production from them would have probably propelled this team to victory last night.
Special teams: Three unremarkable powerplays, which seems to be a trend with Columbus (either great or goat) not to mention the Ward short handed goal, which should have never happened. The more remarkable stat here, was Columbus outscoring Washington 1-0 while the Capitals were on the man advantage. With a player like Ovechkin on the roster, you come to expect it to cost you at least one while down a man.
I want to talk just a bit more about Dubinsky. Five goals and ten assists through fifteen games, including two powerplay goals and two shorthanded goals. He’s on pace for 24 goals (I wanted to see him go back to his twenty goal ways), and he is an enormous part of why this team, at 6-10-1, is tolerable to watch. Rather than go on and on about him, I want to share his goal from last night, which has to be a top goal candidate on NHL Network.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZignE-max9U
Impressive, right? If that’s not individual leadership, I don’t know what is. Effort, pride, and other essentials that are so desperately needed in this team can all come from this guy. He’s the type of player you can build a team around, one that wants to perform and compete every single game. Incredibly hard work pays off in this league, and his teammates should get on board. Forget about the losses, forget about the injuries, just win.
Carry the Flag.
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