Avoiding the box
Alexander Wennberg’s view of the Blue Jackets’ stunning first-round sweep last season wasn’t the one he wanted.
It was a bird’s-eye view from the press level, where the two-way center watched in street clothes as the Jackets pulled off a historic upset of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
He wasn’t injured, either. Wennberg was a scratch — bumped from the lineup thanks to a deep roster that was heavily fortified at the trade deadline by general manager Jarmo Kekalainen.
Wennberg then played in just one game against the Boston Bruins in the second round, ending his season with the double sting of not contributing and the Jackets falling short.
Things are already different this year. Wennberg played a key role in the Jackets’ 2-0 victory Sunday over the Toronto Maple Leafs, which put them up 1-0 in a best-of-five qualifyinground series at Scotiabank Arena.
“It doesn’t really matter what happened to me last year,” said Wennberg, who played about 14½ minutes and scored into an empty net to seal the win with 18.2 seconds left. “I think I’ve kind of closed that book.
“Now, there’s a new situation. I’m ready to play right now, and all my focus is on (this series). I want to be a big part of it, so right now I have the opportunity. I’ve just got to make the most out of it.”
The series opener was a good start, even though Wennberg finished 5 of 15 (33.3%) on faceoffs. He made a number of plays with his stick to break up plays and also skated 1:15 shorthanded, helping the Jackets kill off their lone penalty.
The Blue Jackets make it a goal to commit as few penalties as possible, and they were the least-penalized team in the NHL this season. They were called for just 200 penalties, which was 14 fewer than the next-closest team, the Buffalo Sabres.
That could become a key factor in the playoffs, starting with this series. Toronto was one of the most effective teams on the power play in the regular season — finishing sixth in the league at 23.1% — and can put teams into a hole quickly if given multiple chances with a man advantage.
The Jackets’ only penalty in Game 1 was a tripping minor by Cam Atkinson in the second period, and they killed it off to keep the game scoreless.
“They have one of the best power plays in the league, and we also knew before the game that (the referees) were going to be calling penalties, so it was nice that we just got one,” said Atkinson, who scored the eventual winner 1:05 into the third period.
“We worked on our (penalty killing) a lot, and guys step up to the plate every single time they go over the boards, so I knew they were going to kill that one off for me. But it’s crucial that we stay 5 on 5 with them.”
Tortorella agreed.
“It’s a dangerous power play we’re playing against,” he said. “We can’t give them that many opportunities. It changes momentum of the game, so for (Game 1), I think we did a pretty good job.”
Shots galore
The Jackets aim to create offense with their defense, and that happened most in the final two periods Sunday, when they outshot Toronto 27-17 for a 35-28 edge in the game.
Every skater except Gustav Nyquist finished with at least one shot on goal, led by four each for Oliver Bjorkstrand, Alexandre Texier and Dean Kukan. bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger