The Columbus Blue Jackets played four games last week, starting with the second back-to-back game on Sunday, November 10th. They lost that game to the Anaheim Ducks and had their sixth consecutive loss on Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken. On Friday, they broke their losing streak in a big win at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins but ended Saturday with a loss against the Montreal Canadiens. The Blue Jackets record is now 6-9-2, and they have 14 points, putting them in 8th place in the Metropolitan division.
Forward Kent Johnson was seen at practice last week and is nearing a return that may be sooner than originally expected. This is great news for the Blue Jackets as they have had a hard time scoring in some games recently and Johnson could help them in that aspect.
The Blue Jackets picked up another player from waivers, Dante Fabbro. The Nashville Predators had waived the 26-year-old defenseman after trying to make some deals with other teams but ultimately ended up losing him for nothing. Fabbro comes with a $2.5 million contract, which the Jackets have plenty of cap space for, and gives Nashville more cap space to work with.
CBJ at ANA
The Blue Jackets traveled to Anaheim after a 5-2 loss against the Los Angeles Kings the previous night. The loss was not caused by a lack of shooting as Columbus had 40 shots on goal to Anaheim’s 30. The Duck’s goaltender John Gibson put on a show that night with 38 saves giving him a .950 save percentage.
Brett Leason started the scoring for the Ducks just over three minutes into the game. The Blue Jackets answered 13 minutes later with a slap shot from Yegor Chinakhov during their first powerplay.
The second period started similar to the first, with Anaheim’s Jackson LaCombe putting one in just over four minutes into the period. The Blue Jackets got another powerplay around 13 minutes into the period when Trevor Zegras was called for cross-checking against Adam Fantilli. The Ducks killed that off, and the second period ended with them leading 2-1.
The action continued through the third until the Duck’s Leo Carlsson scored around the 10-minute mark, putting them up 3-1. Kirill Marchenko got one back for the Blue Jackets six minutes later but Anaheim finished the scoring with an empty net goal near the end to win the game 4-2.
CBJ at SEA
The Blue Jackets were back at it on Tuesday in Seattle. They were handed a loss but once again, it was not for lack of trying as they outshot the Kraken 40-33. Once again the opposing team’s goaltender saved 38 of those shots and finished with a .950 save percentage.
Columbus came out hot in the first period, scoring two goals, and held the Kraken to none. Sean Kuraly was the first to tally at 13:46 into the game, which was followed by another goal from Zach Aston-Reese 30 seconds later. Neither team had any powerplay chances, and the period ended with the Jackets leading 2-0.
The Blue Jackets did not fare as well in the second period. Around three minutes in, Tye Kartye scored one for the Kraken to halve the Jacket’s lead. Four minutes later, Brandon Tanev tied the game 2-2. A few seconds later, the first penalty was called on Blue Jacket’s defenseman Kevin Labanc for roughing. Eeli Tolvanen capitalized on the powerplay in just a few seconds to take the lead 3-2. The Kraken weren’t done there as Will Borgen increased their lead to end the period 4-2.
In the third period, Columbus seemed like their heads were back in the game, but it remained scoreless until Seattle’s Jared McCann scored on an empty net with just over a minute remaining. The Kraken won 5-2.
CBJ vs PIT
After losing six games in a row, the Blue Jackets desperately needed a break against their rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Luckily for them, Columbus had a great start and only got better as the game continued.
Zach Aston-Reese was the first to get on the board when he tipped in a shot from Jake Christiansen around two and a half minutes into the game. A few minutes later, Zach Werenski scored a powerplay goal after Penguin’s Drew O’Connor was called for hooking to make the game 2-0. Pittsburgh got their first goal at around the 12-minute mark when Anthony Beuvillier tipped in a shot from Sydney Crosby. The period ended with the Jackets leading 2-1
The second period went smoothly for Columbus until Sean Kuraly was called for a high stick around 10 minutes in. The Penguins took advantage of the powerplay, and Michael Bunting tied the game 2-2. The Blue Jackets weren’t done yet as Mathieu Olivier scored with less than four minutes in the period to end the second 3-2.
Whatever head coach Dean Evason said to the Blue Jackets during intermission seemed to hit home, and they started the second period hot. Two minutes in, Columbus forward Dmitri Voronkov scored a wrist shot to put them up 4-2. Eight minutes later, Damon Severson was the next to score for the Jackets, putting them up 5-2. Pittsburgh pulled their goalie early with over four minutes left to play. Forward Cole Sillinger scored an empty net goal to end the game with a 6-2 win for Columbus.
CBJ at MTL
Once again, the Blue Jackets started the game strong, but they allowed the Montreal Canadiens to score five minutes into the game. Mike Matheson scored a powerplay goal after Severson was called for slashing. Columbus was called for two more penalties in the first but killed off both.
The newly acquired Dante Fabbro started the scoring off for the Blue Jackets in the second period, tying the game 1-1. That was his first goal as a Columbus Blue Jacket. Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki had the answer when he scored with just over three minutes remaining to end the period 2-1.
The third period started well for the Blue Jackets, but as time ticked by, it got worse by the minute. The period was scoreless until Montreal scored 11 minutes in. That seemed to be the tipping point, and Canadien’s Jake Evans scored just two minutes later. Josh Anderson finished the scoring for Montreal with four minutes left to win the game 5-1.
The Blue Jackets struggled to get as many shots as in previous games and struggled with the powerplay. They had four powerplay opportunities but didn’t capitalize on any of them.
Final Thoughts
The season started better than some expected, and up until their loss streak, the Blue Jackets were 5-3-1 and received points for four games in a row. After their loss at home against the Winnipeg Jets, their five-game road trip may have worn on the team, not to mention the late starts compared to the Eastern timezone.
So far Columbus has only won one of nine away games. The energy at home and being able to feed off the crowd may help them in some ways, but for a successful season, they need to figure out how to win on the road.
Injuries have already been tough for the Blue Jackets this year after losing Erik Gudbranson and Boone Jenner. The return of Dmitri Voronkov and Kent Johnson may help Columbus out of its funk but it will take a lot of work as a team to get back on the winning path.
The Blue Jackets’ next game is at TD Garden on Monday, November 18, against the Boston Bruins.
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