All things considered, the Blue Jackets certainly would have preferred to get two points rather than just one in Saturday’s 1-0 shootout loss vs. the Rangers, but you couldn’t find too many disappointed faces in the locker room after the game.
Yes, it was unfortunate to see the team’s six-game winning streak come to an end in just the 15th game in team history to end regulation without a goal, but the Blue Jackets were encouraged by the way they played throughout the 65 minutes in Madison Square Garden.
The Blue Jackets could have lost concentration and opened things up to try to push for a goal, but instead they stuck with their game for the most part. When they did make a mistake, goaltender Daniil Tarasov was there in earning his first career shutout.
“It was a great hockey game,” head coach Dean Evason said. “Both teams played hard. It might not have been exciting as far as scoring goals, but the effort was there by both teams. The desperation was there by both teams. The patience, I really, really liked how our hockey club stayed within ourselves. We didn’t panic, didn’t open it up. We gave up some stuff, but we got some stuff as well.”
Of late, Evason has preached defensive effort and tightening things up in that realm, as goals are going to be harder and harder to come by as teams tighten up amid the playoff race. That’s especially true on the road, where the Blue Jackets struggled early in the season but have now earned five points out of six in the last three contests away from home.
Over the last five games, Columbus has given up just six goals, their best defensive stretch since January 2020.
“I think it’s a combination of being sharp defensively, but also making sure we’re being smart when we have the puck to not give up any of those exposed situations,” James van Riemsdyk said. “I think we’ve been doing a great job with that.”
The game against the Rangers kicked off a stretch of eight games out of nine away from home, which continues tonight just a little to the east as the Blue Jackets take on the Islanders. Defenseman Damon Severson said the team wants to keep playing that tighter style on the road as the Jackets try to rack up points.
“Obviously we’ve been good at home, and we’re trying to get our road record where we want it to be to help us be successful down the line,” Severson said. “We’ll take the overtime point for sure, but it’s a step in the right direction for where we need our road game to go if we’re going to be successful.”
Know The Foe: New York Islanders
Head coach: Patrick Roy (Second season)
Team stats: Goals per game: 2.64 (27th) | Scoring defense: 3.02 (17th) | PP: 11.8 percent (32nd) | PK: 67.4 percent (32nd)
The narrative: Lou Lamoriello has built a team that has made the Stanley Cup Playoffs five of the last six seasons, but after back-to-back runs to the NHL’s final four in 2020 and ‘21, the Isles have lost in the first round each of the past two seasons. Getting over the hump has proven difficult, as the Islanders just haven’t had the firepower to match up with some of the top teams in the league. This season, special teams have killed the Islanders, who are actually outscoring teams at 5-on-5 but are in last place in the Metropolitan because of the power play and penalty kill.
Team leaders: Anders Lee leads the charge, as the 34-year-old team captain tops the charts for the Islanders in both goals (20) and points (36). Bo Horvat follows with a 14-19-33 line, while Kyle Palmieri has 12 goals among his 29 points. Brock Nelson has 13 goals and 28 points, while Noah Dobson has followed a 70-point season on the blue line with a 6-17-23 line.
With longtime CBJ killer Semyon Varlamov on injured reserve, Ilya Sorokin is expected to get the start and is 13-14-4 in 31 games with a 2.87 GAA and .900 save percentage.
What's new: It’s the Islanders, so as usual, not much. They’ve built a core that has been together for a while, but the special teams struggles have reached almost epic proportions. The penalty kill percentage is the worst in NHL history, while the power play isn’t much better, ranking 14th-worst in NHL annals. The PK has improved some of late – the Islanders haven’t allowed a power-play goal in the last six games – while the power play scored twice Thursday vs. Philadelphia to end a 14-game scoreless streak.
Trending: The Islanders swept the three-game season series a year ago had won 14 of 18 coming into the season, but the Blue Jackets took a 2-0 win Oct. 30 in Nationwide Arena behind goals from Damon Severson and Justin Danforth.
Former CBJ: Forward Anthony Duclair missed a large chunk of the season with a lower body injury and has3-4-7 in 17 games, while Liam Foudy played two games with the team earlier this year before being returned to the AHL.