Final Score: Hurricanes 1 – Blue Jackets 5
Game Summary
The Jackets had another rough start, getting outshot 16-6 in the first period. This has become routine over the season. This team cannot get anything going in the opening frame. They made up for the sloppy first with a fantastic second period in which they scored three goals and limited Carolina to just two shots. That was the difference in the game as the Jackets cruised to a 5-1 win.
The first big moment in the game came at 10:35 of the first period. Alexander Wennberg took a holding penalty. That was the first penalty he's taken all season! It took him 65 games to get that first penalty. He has been great at avoiding the box this year.
Brandon Saad scored the Jackets first goal on the team’s second shot. Goal scorers are all streaky and Saad has started a hot one. He’s scored in back to back games after not scoring in the previous 10. Saad was feeling it tonight; he added two more goals for his first career NHL hat trick.
His first goal came on a breakaway. He made a great play at his blue line to intercept a pass and with his speed, was gone.
Sonny Milano picked up his NHL first point on Saad’s second goal. He rushed the puck into the zone, took it behind the net, got past the d-man and made a nice pass to Saad for the one-timer. It hasn’t taken long to see how well Milano thinks the game. He has made numerous great plays like that one. He is a very smart player that always seems to be able to know what to do with the puck.
The third goal was similar to the second one. This time Wennberg rushed the puck in with speed. He went low though didn’t go behind the net, he fed the puck out front and Saad was right there to put it home.
That line of Saad-Wennberg-Milano was rolling. They combined for six points and had six shots on goal. They were also three of the top four forwards in terms of possession.
The Jackets fourth goal came at the latest possible moment in the second. Boone Jenner scored his 30th of the season with 0.1 second left on the clock. What a great season Boone has been having. He becomes just the fifth player in team history to score 30. He continues to be one the bright spots of this dark season.
Not to be outdone, Oliver Bjorkstrand got into the fun, scoring his third NHL goal. He darted past two Hurricanes players got himself that little bit of space, got the puck and released that good shot of his and beat Eddie Lack.
Stat of the Night
View post on imgur.com
Stats courtesy of
HockeyStats.ca,
War On Ice, and
Hockey Reference.
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