After the hole Columbus dug themselves during losses to Edmonton and Vancouver, I was ready to see another convincing loss against Toronto and a major shakeup. It’s not that pessimism has taken over my mentality for the team, in fact, I still believe on paper they are about as capable as any other team in their division to compete for a playoff spot. Rather, it just seemed like par for the course, after the way they’ve played, and the injuries they’ve suffered.
Instead, my smile increased throughout the game. The matchup brought shocked satisfaction as Columbus controlled the puck, limited mistakes, and caused turnovers which lead to odd man rushes for the first real time this season. It was exciting, and even caused me to watch the late night replay so I could take in the quality effort again. They deserved to win the game, and they did the right things. With the exception of Toronto basically sitting back and letting them win, I could not be more impressed by their efforts.
Offensively, they came from every angle. Scoring their first two goals with gritty efforts that started behind the offensive net, it opened the space for point shots. They scored their third on a nice two on one rush (and a great shot by Skille), and capitalized on the collapsed Toronto powerplay by dealing the puck to Murray at the point and watching him rip home a wrist shot. Two third period goals from Johansen, one on yet another odd man rush, and a cannon of a wrist shot on the powerplay, and Columbus was able to walk away with six legitimate goals, none of which were flukey.
It was a complete offensive effort. They changed their strategy to separate from Toronto and it gave them time to handle the puck and look for open teammates both high and low in the zone. They were opportunistic when Toronto had the puck at the point, and took it away to start back on odd man rushes more than we’ve seen this year. Notable were Atkinson and Johansen, who combined for ten shots (half of the twenty shots fired on net by Columbus). I believe you want your best players shooting, and they certainly accomplished that. Combining for three of the six goals also helps.
Defensively, it was a notable improvement from previous games. No really bad turnovers in the neutral zone, no terrible odd-man rushes coming back the other way, and a keen sense of where to play the puck in every situation. Ryan Murray is many things right now, and a budding, elite level defenseman is most certainly one of them. Poise for days on the puck, looking for the right moment to make a pass or fire a shot from the point.
This was probably as good of a time as any for Bobrovsky to get a snoozer of a shutout. He needs the confidence to be himself in net, and desperately needed the confidence that his defense wouldn’t break down in front of his crease they way they have. I hope this is a building block for him for the rest of the season. Making timely saves when needed, not leaving opportunistic rebounds, and shutting the door.
For the team as a whole, it was complete. Not a ton of shots, but the right shots. Two for four on the powerplay, and one for one on the penalty kill. Not taking foolish penalties despite registering better than forty hits, and going to the hard to earn areas of the ice relentlessly. Finally, scoring six goals with a depleted offensive lineup, and doing so with quality goals. The fans deserve these games, and I am sure many of the guys were very pleased to deliver. Columbus returns to the ice on Wednesday against Nashville, and I hope they are ready to continue the trend of effort and pride that begun in Toronto. Just win.
Carry the Flag!
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