FINAL: Predators 2, Blue Jackets 1

The Blue Jackets suffered a 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators on Saturday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena.
Game in a Paragraph
After Columbus took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame, Nashville battled back to control the second to lead 2-1 after 40 minutes. Columbus couldn't find the equalizer from there as the team fell to 1-4-2 in the last seven games.

Quote of the Game
Head coach John Tortorella: "This is who we are right now. It's confusing with just trying to get out of it. We have been this all year long, and this is why our record is what it is. We're the only ones that are going to be able to figure this out just making more puck plays."
CBJ Standouts

Quick Recap
There were chances aplenty early, with Korpisalo having to make a save on Matt Duchene on a 2-on-1 early and Zach Werenski having to sweep a puck out of the blue paint, while Nashville's Juuse Saros made a blocker stop on a breakaway by Eric Robinson.
But Columbus was the only team to score in the opening 20 minutes, taking a 1-0 lead at 7:26 on a goal by Atkinson. Jack Roslovic forced a turnover at the blue line, feeding it ahead to Boone Jenner for a 2-on-0 rush approaching Saros, and Jenner slid the puck across to Atkinson on the right to deposit through the legs of Saros for the goal.
The second period was largely controlled by the Predators, who scored twice to take a 2-1 lead after two periods. It took just 1:12 for the Predators to tie the score in the frame, as Mattias Ekholm took a slap shot from the left point and sailed it home into the top far corner past the screened Korpisalo.
Korpisalo kept the Blue Jackets in it for much of the rest of the period, with back-to-back stops on Viktor Arvidsson and Nick Cousins on the same shift midway through the frame, but his luck ran out with 3:06 left in the period. The Blue Jackets won a defensive zone faceoff but Ekholm kept it in at the left point and fired again, this time the puck tipping off the stick of Roslovic in front before beating Korpisalo short side.
Oliver Bjorkstrand fired high from the slot with seven minutes left in the third, and Columbus had a late power play, but the tying goal never came.
3 Takeaways
1. Looking for playmaking: There were times in this one -- as it has been all year -- that it seemed like the Blue Jackets were playing with a square puck. There's just so little confidence with the puck on players' sticks, and it's not isolated to one or two players; it feels like a team wide issue. Afterward, that was the biggest lament of Tortorella, who hasn't been able to find any combinations that really flow offensively. "We have to help one another," he said. "That's the only way we're going to regain some sort of composure and confidence with the puck. I'm talking about some pretty good players that we have here." For whatever reason, though, it just hasn't worked this year. And time is running out to find it.
2. Second period woes: Here's a pretty incredible stat: Nashville had not led any of their preivous 19 games after two periods. That sounds impossible, but there's a good reason why -- the Predators had been outscored 25-6 in the second period this year. But that's also been Columbus' worst period as well, as the Blue Jackets had been doubled up in goals 28-14 in the second coming in. Make it 30-14 now as Nashville's two goals in the second stood up the rest of the way. In an inconsistent year, being unable to build on decent starts has been a theme. This time, the Blue Jackets allowed the Preds to have an 18-10 edge in shots on goal at 5-on-5 during the frame. "For whatever reason, we just take our foot off the gas pedal every time in the second period and teams capitalize," Atkinson said.
3. Another blender: OK, I have a personal confession to make -- I hate all the talk about Torts' "line blender." Any coach in the league will shake things up if a team is struggling to generate offense or is getting hemmed in the defensive end. That's just the sport. But if Torts does have a line blender, it's been on its highest setting this year. He made multiple changes as the game went on this time around, eventually going to some lines used a couple games back, with Roslovic centering Atkinson and Patrik Laine, Alexandre Texier between Jenner and Nick Foligno, and Kevin Stenlund centering Bjorkstrand and Max Domi. That created some chances in the third -- Columbus doubled up Nashville in expected goals at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick -- but it wasn't enough to get the tying goal. Tortorella is still looking for some combos that truly seem to have chemistry. "It's hard to right now because there's just not a lot of players that are consistently in an offensive flow," the coach said.
Notable
Atkinson has an 8-5-13 line in the last 10 games. … Roslovic continues to produce at a point-per-game clip with a 4-9-13 line in the last 13 games. … Columbus has scored first in 15 of 22 games and outscored teams 24-14 in the first period. … Columbus went 0-for-3 on the power play against Nashville's 28th-ranked penalty kill (70.3 percent coming in). ... The CBJ penalty kill was 4-for-4 in the game. … The Blue Jackets are just 1-7-1 in their last nine games in the Music City and have just nine wins in 48 games there.
Roster Report
The Blue Jackets made no changes to the 18-skater lineup, with the only change being Veini Vehvilainen serving as backup goalie behind Korpisalo. Scratches were forward Mikhail Grigorenko as well as defensemen Dean Kukan and Scott Harrington.
Up Next
Columbus again takes on the Predators on Broadway to complete the series tomorrow at 3 p.m.