Final Score: Blue Jackets 4 – Canadiens 2
Game Summary
When you talk about luck over the course of an NHL season this are the kind of games that are referred to. Montreal was expected to be a much better team, and at this point in the year their year has been a complete write off. They were missing three of their best players for this game with Max Pacioretty, Shea Weber, and Carey Price all sidelined with injuries. The Jackets were happy to take advantage, thumping Montreal for their fifth straight win.
The game didn’t start out the way the Jackets wanted. Brendan Gallagher tipped home a Jeff Petry shot 34 seconds into the game. The Jackets responded quickly, getting some more luck, with this goal going in off a Montreal skater.
Nick Foligno gets credit for this goal. His 15th of the season. The Jackets again took advantage of their luck. They didn’t sit on that goal, they kept pushing, scoring not one but two more goals in the period, both on the power play.
This goal was originally credited to Seth Jones but it was later determined that Alexander Wennebrg got his stick on it. Regardless this was a great looking power play. You had Cam Atkinson, Artemi Panarin and Seth Jones cycling the puck up high, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Wennberg forming the screen. I said this recenty but when the power play is working everything seems so simple. The Jackets used pretty much the exact same play to score their second power play goal.
This goal was all Jones, but once again you had the double screen. With the way the Jackets set this up it works best to have the player on the point be the shooter. As good as Panarin and Atkinson are at shooting, you want them setting up Jones and Werenski for point shots. Wennberg and Dubois have the skill around the net to tip pucks and bang home rebounds.
The Jackets lucky ways continued in the second period. This time it was Boone Jenner getting a bounce.
Wennberg who very quietly had a four point game, feather this pass in, Jenner is just able to get his stick on it and shovels it towards the net. A lot of the time, the goalie is able to deflect that way or simply just cover it up. Here it just sits there and Jenner is able to pot his own rebound.
The fifth goal might have been the luckiest of them all. Ian Cole just throws the puck towards the net and it kind of knuckles and beats Charlie Lindgren.
This goal made it 5-2 but this was a goal the Jackets really needed. They really sat back hard in the third. They allowed Montreal to take 24 shots, which is frankly a lot especially considering the Jackets had just 25 in the game. The Jackets had no interest in the puck at all it seemed like. They had a 17.5% Corsi in the period. If not for Sergei Bobrovsky Montreal could of easily made this much closer than it needed to be.
One thing that needs to be kept in mind with that final period was the Jackets were without Seth Jones. He sat out the period for precautionary reasons. After he scored against Colorado he took a shot to the ribs and they held him out of the end of this game so that he wouldn’t aggravate anything. With the lead they had and the way they were playing this wasn’t a bad idea. Jones is a crucial piece for this team, so it’s not like you can just give him a game off. Hopefully with two days off here Jones can heal up and be ready for the game Thursday in Philadelphia.
Stat of the Night
Stats courtesy of
Natural Stat Trick and
Hockey-Reference.
You can follow me on Twitter
@PaulBerthelot
Columbus Blue Jackets Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»