A Personal Introduction
Hello all, as I’m new here at Inside The Rink, I thought I would do a quick introduction. My name is Lance Schrock; I’m from central Ohio. I’ve been a Columbus Blue Jackets fan for about a decade, and I’ve been covering them for the past two seasons. I hope I can impart some of my love of the Jackets as well as inform and entertain you. Thanks for taking the time to check this out!
Jets Take Off, Jackets Fall Short
Last night, the Columbus Blue Jackets battled the Winnipeg Jets in Winnipeg. Before this game, the Jets stood atop the NHL standings in first place with 56 points, while the Jackets were in the 28th spot with 35 points. The Jets made the win look easy with a 5-0 shutout, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck’s second for this season. Cole Perfetti led the Jets with two goals and one assist for three points. Winnipeg remains on top of the standings in first place with 58 points, leading the second-place Vancouver Canucks with 57 points.
Early in the game, the Jets struck first with a goal from Brenden Dillon 3:12 into the game. The Jackets continued to allow shots from the slot most of the night, while the passing was also subpar. One thing from the first period I liked about the Blue Jackets was Mathieu Olivier getting physical.
In the second period, the Blue Jackets could not capitalize on the powerplay, something that’s been plaguing them all season. 10:50 into the second, Columbus couldn’t clear, and Cole Perfetti scored, making it 2-0. The Jets would continue to shut down the Jackets with their defense while using their superior passing and offense to make it 3-0 with a goal from Josh Morrisey. During this period, Neal Pionk received his second penalty for the night with a call for clipping against the Jackets’ star rookie Adam Fantilli. Justin Danforth stood up to defend the rookie, and both he skated away with two-minute roughing penalties each. The Jackets would start the third period with a powerplay.
In the third period, the Jackets could not capitalize on the powerplay once again. Another goal from Perfetti to make it 4-0. At this point, the Jackets had 20 shots on goal to the Jets 17. Jets would get a powerplay 9:13 into the 3rd and Gabriel Vilardi score the final goal to make it 5-0. Jackets came close to scoring one at 1:23 left in the period with their best rush of the night but fell short.
Thoughts and Opinions
While not expecting a 5-0 blowout, I did expect the Blue Jackets to possibly struggle in this game. It’s hard to pinpoint the Jackets inability to win games this season. It’s likely a culmination of several factors. One thing to look at is, like last season, the injuries. Jackets have been without captain Boone Jenner for 13 games (broken jaw), as well as missing out on stars Zach Werenski (lower body) and Patrik Laine (broken collarbone). While not guaranteed to win, these key players can oftentimes help keep Columbus in the game. Combine those injuries with a first-year head coach, poor powerplay, and defensive struggles, and you have a possible answer to some of the Blue Jacket’s struggles.
I’ll be going over the struggles, and reviewing the first half of the season in my next article, stay tuned! The Blue Jacket’s next game is Saturday, Janua,ry 13th, vs the Seattle Kraken.
