Final Score: Rangers 4 – Blue Jackets 2 Game Summary
This was a frustrating game. The Blue Jackets played great for about 56 minutes and should have won.
The team came out flying early with every line getting pressure. They out shot the Rangers 9-6 in the first period and kept that going all the way through the game finishing ahead 33-25. Despite the loss this was a very well-played game and if the team is going to win a lot of games if this keeps up.
Ryan Murray was very impressive in his first regular season game since his injury. He played 21:04 in the game second among defencemen behind Jack Johnson. He was his typical self, poised with the puck, never panicked and picked good spots to join the play. He almost scored on his first shift, just missing the puck as it was lying in the crease. He did pick up an assist on Brandon’s Saad power play goal in the third. From an analytical point of view Murray was very impressive as well. He had a 67% Corsi which was tops among defencemen.
Saad carried his hot pre-season play over to the regular season, scoring on the power play as mentioned. He was dangerous every time he had the puck. I knew he was a big guy but I never realized how strong he was. He was able to keep guys off of him and away from the puck seemly with ease. His fancy stats were also very good. He had a 67% Corsi in the game which was second among forwards behind Brandon Dubinsky.
Speaking of Dubinsky…
Columbus turned "OH NO I'M FALLING" into "HOLY COW WHAT A GOAL"
http://t.co/so2y9yEqG8
https://t.co/93nVWHIorW
— SB Nation NHL (@SBNationNHL) October 10, 2015He’s pretty good (nice finish by Atkinson as well).
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Alexander Wennberg was hit by Chris Kreider early in the first period. He played one more shift on the power play before being shut done for the night. He suffered a concussion on the play. We don’t know the severity of it (you never really know with concussions) but it would be a big loss for the team if it was serious. In the short term this means we will be seeing a lot more of William Karlsson. I would expect Karlsson to step right into Wennberg’s spot between Hartnell and Atkinson.
Jarmo confirmed after the game that Karlsson will draw into the lineup.
Any sense of "here we go again?" Jarmo: "No. Wiliiam Karlsson is going to get a good chance to play now. That's the way I look at it." #CBJ
— Shawn Mitchell (@smitchcd) October 10, 2015As for the hit it was late but I didn’t think Kreider targeted the head. It was a high hit but to me it looked like he was going for the chest. Regardless it was a bad hit that lead to an injury. The NHL should be reviewing it and we could see supplemental discipline.
Stat of the Night
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