Losses show there’s work to do
The Blue Jackets ended this past week with two home games against two of the NHL’s best teams, and disappointingly for them, two losses.
Their effort in Saturday’s 6-4 defeat to the Kings, who are tied for second in points (13) with zero regulation losses and a league-best 13-goal differential, was immensely better than Thursday’s 2-0 setback against the Lightning, which has posted 15 points and outscored opponents by 12.
Still, “you’ve got to find a way to get on the other end of those games and be the one scoring there with a couple of minutes left,” Boone Jenner said.
Added fellow winger Matt Calvert: “It’s backto-back games against two good hockey teams, and for whatever reason we couldn’t find a way.”
The Blue Jackets (5-3) lost consecutive games four times last season, and just once at home — to the Bruins and Sharks to start the season. They’ll get another chance to knock off a quality team Saturday night on the road against the Blues, tied with the Kings in points, after home games against the Sabres and Jets on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.
Anze Kopitar’s gamewinner for the Kings, which came with 2:14 left, was “a very defendable goal” that resulted from Calvert missing coverage, Jackets coach John Tortorella noted postgame.
“I don’t think we played it that well in the corner, but it’s still a 30-foot pass cross-ice (from Dustin Brown), Calvy sees the guy and he just lets him get behind,” Tortorella said.
“They snapped one right from the boards, it went over two of our guys’ sticks and I wasn’t quite there,” Calvert said. “It’s one I’d definitely like to have back.”
As a whole, “It seemed like we made a few mistakes we could correct and maybe have saved some goals,” winger Oliver Bjorkstrand added.
The Jackets will work the next two days on eliminating defensive mistakes, and expect to get better goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky in his next start after five goals allowed on 31 shots against the Kings.
But they also carry several positives into this week. After 18 consecutive power plays without a goal, they ended their drought with Nick Foligno’s first-period score, and did so against the NHL’s top-ranked penalty kill. Jenner “didn’t miss a beat,” Calvert said, in his return from a back injury. Jenner’s presence appeared to spark linemate Bjorkstrand, who netted his first goal of the season. So did Calvert. And rookie Sonny Milano scored for the first time since tallying four goals combined in the first three games.
“It took some of the weight off my shoulders,” Milano said.
Tortorella, who had a private conversation with Milano at Friday’s practice, during which he told the long, curlylocked winger to get a haircut (Milano obliged and chopped off about 2 inches), said Milano “doesn’t have to change his game” despite being dropped to the fourth line. The coach added that the key to Milano getting minutes on the ice moving forward will be his play away from the puck.
The Jackets, meanwhile, will try to avoid their first three-game skid since losing six consecutive games in late March and early April of last season.
“We played some good hockey (against the Kings). It’s something we can build on,” Bjorkstrand said. “Of course it sucks to lose, but a few adjustments and we could have gotten the win.”