The first period of Tuesday night’s tilt against the Canucks looked like most of the Blue Jackets games up until this point. Players are looking lost in the defensive end and standing around (I kid you not.) Yet, in between the first and second periods, something happened. The Blue Jackets came out and looked and played like a competent hockey team. It was that fast.
Whatever was said in the locker room took hold of the team. Adam Boqvist was a healthy scratch, enter Nick Blankenburg. At 5′ 9″, Blankenburg does not look like much, but that’s okay. Blankenburg set the tone for the Blue Jackets. His physical play seems to light a fire in his teammates. The first big hit would change the dynamics of the game.
What seemed to happen is that as the Blue Jackets found their defensive footing, the offense was able to get going. In other words, because players were simply playing defense and not overthinking, it took the stress away, and players performed up to their abilities on the offensive end.
I’m sure you’ve heard the defense feeds off of the offense and the other way around. This was clearly the case. After Blankenburg’s big hit, the team settled in. The man-to-man defense the team had switched to suddenly was not an issue. Players understood who their guy was and defended them.
The Blue Jackets were finally able to use team speed to their advantage and took the game away from Vancouver. Now comes the tricky part. Wash, rinse, repeat; the Blue Jackets must find consistency on a game-to-game basis. That is usually the case for young teams.
Building on what happened during the second period through OT (overtime) is now the focus. Head coach Brad Larsen said that he feels the team is on the brink of a breakthrough. Based on what happened during Tuesday’s game, it feels like the team is trending in the right direction.
A bit of good news is that Patrik Laine, who has been out since game 1, has been skating and taking shots at team practices without a red jersey. No timeline has been given for Laine’s return, but this is a good sign that he is progressing.
