It’s always nice to drown out the regular Sunday afternoon pigskin with the sound of skates digging into the ice, shots ringing off the crossbar, and crisp tape to tape passes. After a very disappointing shootout loss to Montreal on Friday, expectations were not terribly high that the entire Columbus roster could come out and play a full sixty minutes. Ottawa played host in front of a surprisingly low 15,535 (84%).
Regardless of games past, the Jackets fans were awarded for their loyalty with arguably the best game Columbus has put together this year – they dominated Ottawa from the opening faceoff. Taking a quick look at the stats will not tell the story. I have talked endlessly both on twitter and through these recaps that Columbus lacks the meaningful shots it takes to win games, and that was not the issue yesterday.
Three powerplay goals, with the team going three for five (although arguably three for four if you note the fourth line seeing powerplay time in the final three minute powerplay). Point shots hitting the net, with only a single missed shot between all six defensive skaters (although I did find it very surprising that Johnson didn’t manage to get a shot on goal in the twenty-three minutes he played). The most necessary defensive shoutout is Murray. Every time this kid touches the puck, it turns to gold. Passes are simple and accurate, decisions are concise and his skating is fluid. Columbus has found a building block and I hope they give him the creative freedom to become an elite NHL talent.
One of the early stories that concerned me was the move to bring Jenner right up alongside Dubinsky and Atkinson. Playing hard minutes and a lot of them, first game back after injury. That’s a lot to ask of a rookie, and Jenner seemed to thrive on it. Fast on the puck, and sometimes faster when pursuing the puck, his tenacity was sorely missed.
There was a lot of really strong play from Columbus, but I am going to single out Ryan Johansen. Something has absolutely snapped in this kid over the last six months. I’m not sure why, but he has built up a ton of confidence, and it consistently being one of the most noticeable players on the ice. Big body both on and off the puck, he’s winning puck battles while navigating through opposition, and he’s doing it with ease. He scored a goal and tallied an assist yesterday, and was primed for at least another goal that just caught some Anderson pad after slipping by a couple Senators. He’s projected to score 25 goals this year, and is doing it at a very sustainable 11.1% shooting. Stay tuned on this kid, because he can be as elite as he wants.
One less remarkable but necessary shoutout goes to Umberger. I’ve been hammering him on social media (#CBJ) to be the big body he knows he can be, going to the harder areas of the ice and mixing it up there. Yesterday, he found pay dirt in front of the net, scoring his fifth goal of the season. If Columbus wants to be successful, they need guys like RJ to step up in a secondary scoring role. Maybe he could spend some time with MacKenzie, who is relentless regardless of where he is on the ice. Maybe it’s time for Umberger to realize that his NHL talents aren’t going to be found around the perimeter.
Bobrovksy was solid. It wasn’t his most impressive game, and that really pleases me (for the rest of the team). Every once in a while a goalie deserves to get solid stats out of a relatively easy start, and while he made some timely saves, the majority were saves that most goalies make. You could tell he was really vying for that shutout after slamming his blocker hand towards the ice when Ottawa finally broke the seal. I hope he can take the momentum from this game into his next start, attempting to return to last season form.
Columbus returns to the ice on Tuesday, facing off against lowly Edmonton. A very winnable game, it’s time to continue this five game point scoring streak. This team showed yesterday the capacity to be a winning team, and I for one am ready to see them play to that potential each game.
Carry the Flag!
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