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Jackets Shock Bolts in Game 1

April 11, 2019, 8:14 AM ET [16 Comments]
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That was not what anyone expected.

After a terrible 20 minutes the Jackets found themselves down 3-0 to the #1 team in the NHL. TBL had not lost after leading by 3 all season. A second period goal by the captain and better play throughout gave hope to the Jacket faithful for the rest of the series, but not really any ideas of a Game 1 victory. Savard provided excitement with a 3rd period goal, but surely TBL would tighten up and finish the game strong. Then, with just over 10 minutes left Dubi takes an ill-advised double minor. Even if C-Bus could find a way to kill 4 minutes against the league’s top PP, time would be short to find the equalizer. Instead Anderson takes it upon himself to tie the game with a shorty, and the PK finished a successful kill. Would the Jackets be happy evening the game? Nope. The forth unanswered goal came on the powerplay courtesy of Seth Jones via a slick one-time pass from Panarin. Bob and friends locked down the last 5 minutes to complete an epic comeback.

Bobrovsky was shaky in the 1st but settled in, had some highlight reel saves, and didn’t surrender a goal in the last 40 minutes.

The fact that Columbus won a game in this series isn’t that shocking even though, if there was going to be a sweep in the first round, the experts would have picked this series. Taking a game on the road, while not probable, isn’t unthinkable given the Jackets favorable away record. What was shocking is way in which the CBJ won. They didn’t start well, gave up the first goal (the first 3 in fact) and found themselves at a substantial disadvantage heading to the third. An unbelievable 3-goal third period is unheard of. The Jackets find themselves the talk of the NHL on Day 1 of the playoffs.

What This W Means


In the simplest terms it means that the CBJ lead the series 1-0. At worst the CBJ get a split on the road. Home ice advantage now belongs to Columbus. Recall, however, the 2018 playoffs started with two Jackets wins @ WAS…we all know how that went. The difference was that WAS started their backup goaltender those two games and Vasilevskiy was in net for TBL.

The book on Vasilevskiy

Did the Jackets find a weakness in Vasilevskiy’s game? Three goals were scored high stick side. Foligno, Savard and Jones all picked the same spot while Anderson’s shorty was 5-hole with Stamkos interfering with his own goalie. It’s something to watch the rest of the season.

Anyone think TBL is feeling the pressure as the Cup favorite?

Anyone think CBJ has a chance in this series?
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