The Columbus Blue Jackets certainly didn't play their best hockey over the past week, but that didn't stop them from completing the sweep on their western Canada road trip.
Trailing 2-1 entering the 3rd against a Flames team that needed points, Artem Anisimov scored a soft goal early in the frame that forced overtime where former Flame Rene Bourque eventually scored the winner.
Some thoughts:
1) The Jackets may have won six of their last seven, but they're still not playing very good hockey. There have been a ton of defensive breakdowns on a nightly basis, but the team has been bailed out by a) excellent goaltending and; b) timely scoring.
Take this western Canada swing, for example. The Blue Jackets allowed well over 40 shots to a terrible team in the Oilers, before allowing 40 against a decent Vancouver team, and 40 against a Flames team that's outshot - sometimes significantly - on a nightly basis. Regardless of who your goaltender is, you're not going to win a lot of games allowing 40+ shots a night.
2) John Davidson was on Sportsnet's broadcast of Flames vs Blue Jackets during one of the intermissions last night, and he had some interesting things to see regarding Ryan Johansen. While Davidson mentioned the team is happy with Johansen's play, they still feel he has a long way to go to reach his ceiling. While I agree that Johansen still has potential to be better, I don't know exactly what the Blue Jackets are expecting of him. I mean, he could very realistically record 70 points this season playing for a non-playoff team that was decimated by injuries, and he's still only 22. I think the Jackets should be quite pleased with what they're getting from Johansen right now, and anything more would be an added bonus.
3) Rene Bourque is getting a good opportunity to play in the top-6 to try and rejuvenate his career, and so far he's making the most of it. In his last two games he has three goals, and 12 shots on goal. I don't think he's going to become a consistent goal scorer, but he could provide some nice scoring depth next season when the Jackets are healthy again, and he can play with relatively good linemates against team's lesser players.
4) William Karlsson, the key piece acquired in the James Wisniewski trade, has gone pointless in seven consecutive games since suiting up for Springfield. I get that it takes time to get used to new linemates, systems, etc. but you'd obviously like to see/expect more production than that for a guy the Jackets moved a top-4 defenseman to acquire. I think Karlsson will be a good player at some point, but I still maintain the Jackets sold low on Wisniewski.
Recent posts