Sergei Bobrovsky made his much anticipated return to the lineup on Saturday night and stood on his head in what eventually was a 2-1 Blue Jackets win.
After nine consecutive losses, the Jackets have won consecutive games and are slowly starting to move up the Eastern Conference standings.
Some thoughts:
- I didn't catch all of the Jackets game on Saturday - I was out scouting some OHL hockey - but from what I saw Bobrovsky stood on his head and allowed the Jackets to pick up two points in a game they probably wouldn't have picked up one had Curtis McElhinney had started. He stopped 36-37 and stole two points, which is what the Jackets needed from him.
- There's been a lot made about Bobrovsky wanting to become one of the league's highest paid goaltenders, but after performances like that and looking at his body of work over the last two years (only Tuukka Rask has a higher even-strength save percentage) it's hard to argue against giving him a big contract. His numbers are right there with the best of the best.
- To put in perspective how, well, not good the Jackets were at even-strength, here are the shot attempt numbers from the game. San Jose controlled play regardless of who was on the ice for the Jackets. It's always a good sign when you can win games even when you don't play overly well.
- Boone Jenner has five points in six games since returning to the lineup, and has done a good job of boosting the team's offense behind the Ryan Johansen line. He hasn't scored yet, but he's averaging almost three shots per game and the goals will certainly come if he continues to do so.
- After consecutive wins the Jackets are five points out of the playoffs. That number is bigger than it probably would seem considering the amount of teams they need to hop, but there's plenty of time left and help is on the way so it's certainly too early to write their season off. I still think they'll get in.
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