FINAL: Blackhawks 2, Blue Jackets 0

The Blue Jackets dropped a 2-0 final to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena.
Game in a Paragraph
It was a much different affair than Tuesday night's back-and-forth contest that ended up 6-5, as neither team scored through 40 minutes and there were just 26 shots on goal combined between the two squads in that span. But Patrick Kane's goal in the third period proved to be the difference as the Blue Jackets were shut out for the first time this season and fell to 1-3-2 in their last six games.

Quote of the Game
Zach Werenski: "I think we did some good things tonight, especially on breakouts. We had a really good first. They had a really good second. The third period, you kind of knew it was going to be one goal that would kind of decide it. We've been scoring a lot of goals lately. It's tough to get blanked tonight, but I think we did some good things."
CBJ Standouts

Quick Recap
Though it was just 0-0 after a period of play, the Blue Jackets were much stronger through the first 20 minutes than they had been in previous games, holding an 8-3 edge in shots on goal and an 18-6 advantage in shot attempts. Patrik Laine hit the post twice in the frame, while Chicago goalie Malcolm Subban also made an excellent raised pad save on Seth Jones on the doorstep off a feed from Werenski.
The scoreless draw continued through the second period, but it wasn't for a lack of effort. Chicago came out with a much better showing and carried play through the first 10 minutes of the period, with the best chance coming when Pius Suter stripped Michael Del Zotto, but Korpisalo was able to deny his breakaway try with his right pad.
Columbus' best look of the frame came in the final five minutes as Stenlund stole the puck and put it on net with the rebound kicking out to the onrushing Eric Robinson, but his shot hit the outside of the post with Subban sprawling back to his right to try to cover the net. Korpisalo then kept it 0-0 with a glove save with 2.0 seconds left in the period when Brandon Hagel had a look from the slot.
Subban again had to make a big stop about six minutes into the third with Chicago on the penalty kill, as Stenlund got to the rebound of an Oliver Bjorkstrand shot in the low slot but Subban was able to smother his attempt to keep the game scoreless.
Subban's stops and the pucks off the post proved to be big moments when Chicago took the lead with 11:15 to go with a goal by who else but Kane. He picked up the puck in the neutral zone with speed, came in along the right side and beat Korpisalo with a wrister past the blocker from the dot to make it a 1-0 game.
Columbus pushed and had a few chances from there, but Carl Soderberg settled things with an empty net goal with 50.0 seconds left on the clock.
3 Takeaways
1. Something to build on: The reality is you're going to lose games like this, where you put in a pretty solid effort and still come up short, but this is a tough time for that to happen considering the Blue Jackets are starting to get into the territory where they need some points on the board. Natural Stat Trick had Columbus holding a 2.19-1.31 edge in expected goals at 5-on-5 and a 10-3 edge in high-danger chances as well, but Subban was terrific and the Jackets hit three posts. "We don't find a way to score and they do," head coach Tortorella said. "One shot beats us." Added Werenski: "It was just one of those nights."
2. Kane, able: It was Columbus' bad luck that the one shot came off the stick of Kane, who got a bit lucky then did what superstars do. A bouncing puck was sent out of the zone by the Blackhawks, and Vladislav Gavrikov came up to try to cut it off before it got to Alex DeBrincat. Smart, and he did break it up, but as Gavrikov turned back toward his defensive zone, he couldn't find the puck in his skates and that allowed Kane to grab it and enter the zone with speed. From there, he had the time and space to beat Korpisalo, the crucial moment on a night where Columbus just couldn't find a goal. "I think his whole career he's been a difference maker," David Savard said. "When he gets a shot like that, he doesn't miss too often." Columbus won't see the Blackhawks again until early April, and that will be a welcome respite from Kane, who has as 4-9-13 line this year in the six games between the teams.
3. Take the positives: Werenski looked like his old self and said after the game he felt good, too, a marked improvement from his initial return from a lower body injury Feb. 13 against Chicago. Stenlund, Max Domi and Alexandre Texier were buzzing all night, and other than the first 10 minutes of the second period when the Blackhawks dictated play, there was much more confidence on the puck throughout the team and breakouts from the defensive zone were much more crisp, resulting in less time defending. There's positives to take from the game, but the challenge will be the empty feeling that has to come from another loss as the season is slowly but surely approaching the halfway point. Columbus has time to find its game, but results are becoming more and more crucial as time goes on. "If it was that easy, you wouldn't have these moments in the season," Nick Foligno siad. "We have to keep understanding what makes us successful and chip away at it and eventualy it's going to break."
Notable
Kane also has a 23-45-68 line in 52 career games against Columbus, while the goal was the 399th of his NHL career. … Columbus' power play had been 9 of 31 in the past 13 games but was scoreless in two tries, while Chicago was 0-for-1 and didn't score on the power play for just the fifth time in 21 games. ... The Blue Jackets had a 26-14 edge in hits and a 30-15 edge in faceoffs.
Roster Report
The Blue Jackets made three changes to the lineup, as defensemen Werenski and Michael Del Zotto came off the injured list to go in for Scott Harrington and Andrew Peeke. Emil Bemstrom also played for the first time since Jan. 21, going in for Mikhail Grigorenko. Defenseman Dean Kukan also was a healthy scratch.
Up Next
Columbus travels to Nashville for a pair of 3 p.m. games to be staged Saturday and Sunday vs. the Predators.