As defender delivers key goal, Jackets jump to 2nd in NHL
Last summer, just a few months after they acquired Seth Jones from Nashville and just a few weeks after Zach Werenski lit up the American Hockey League playoffs with his poise and play, the Blue Jackets’ brass opted to radically change how its defensemen played.
When mobile rookie Markus Nutivaara made the roster as a surprise out of training camp, the Jackets were transformed from a slow, plodding group to pack of north-and-south burners.
It’s one of the main reasons they have been one of the NHL’s best clubs this season. It’s certainly why they escaped Thursday night with a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers before 14,921 at Nationwide Arena.
Werenski’s secondperiod goal snapped the Blue Jackets out of an early funk, and Jack Johnson’s shot late in the second — deflected into the net by Josh Anderson — gave the Jackets the lead for good.
“The finish is one thing,”
left wing Matt Calvert said. “But their skating and shooting and passing the puck is a big difference with us this season. They’re always pinching, all the guys, which really helps us with the forecheck. We have the puck more, for sure.”
With the win, the Blue Jackets jumped the Pittsburgh Penguins and climbed into second place in the NHL’s overall standings, sitting just two points behind the Washington Capitals.
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky had 33 saves for his league-leading 38th win of the season.
The win was the Blue Jackets’ fifth straight at home and gave them yet another franchise record: most home wins (26). But this was not one for the replay rack. The Panthers are in a desperate state, sitting seven points out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference.
They had an early goal disallowed upon video review when it was determined that Bobrovsky was tripped up and prevented from playing the puck by Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau in the crease.
They eventually made it 1-0 late in the Broke the ice with his 11th goal
Goal and assist; now has 15 goals
Almost ho-hum at this point: 33 saves for his 38th win
first when former Blue Jackets forward Jonathan Marchessault buried the third rebound attempt on Bobrovsky.
The Blue Jackets spent most of the second period fending off the hyperaggressive Panthers until Werenski took an unexpected wrist shot from outside the left circle.
“I could see he was low,” Werenski said, referring to Florida goaltender James Reimer, “and I could tell there was traffic in front. So I shot high, and it went in.” Werenski makes everything look and sound so easy.
His goal made it 1-1 11 (Anderson, Calvert), 15:51; 3. Columbus, Anderson 15 (Johnson, Karlsson), 19:21. Penalties—Anderson, CBJ (high sticking), 2:04; Dubinsky, CBJ (slashing), 6:32; Demers, Fla (tripping), 8:39; Matheson, Fla (holding), 16:49.
Florida bench, served by Marchessault (too many men on the ice), 4:41.
Florida 10-12-12—34; Columbus 12-13-9—34. Florida 0 of 2; Columbus 0 of 3. Florida, Reimer 13-13-5 (34 shots32 saves); Columbus, Bobrovsky 38-13-4 (3433). 14,921. 2:31. and lifted a weight off the Blue Jackets. Threeand-a-half minutes later, Johnson skated left to right across the slot and took a wrist shot that Anderson redirected.
The Blue Jackets have 34 goals and 112 assists from their defensemen, blowing passed last season’s figures (22 goals, 96 assists) many weeks ago.
Like so many other ways this season, they have gone from one of the worst teams in the NHL to one of the best when it comes to getting offense from their defensemen.