After CBJ wins, we'll give three takeaways about what stood out or what we'll remember from the Blue Jackets' victory.
1. It wasn’t a normal gameday for the Blue Jackets, but maybe that was a good thing in a way.
The Blue Jackets wouldn’t exactly draw up the way things went for them on Monday. They found out shortly after Sunday night’s home win vs. the Islanders that their flight to take on Ottawa would be delayed until morning, and then morning eventually became afternoon.
Columbus didn’t actually land in Canada’s capital city until around 4 p.m. Monday or arrive at the Canadian Tire Centre until shortly before 5 for what became a 7:30 faceoff. Some aspects of pregame routines went out the window as the team raced to prepare before puck drop, but Jet Greaves has a saying for this situation.
The CBJ goaltender spent the past two seasons shuttling between Columbus and AHL Cleveland, and he often spoke of a simple phrase – “be where your feet are.” It means attacking each day with a focus on handling what is in front of you without worrying about what's not, and it was a fitting way for the Jackets’ starting netminder to approach an unusual experience.
“I think it’s easy to sometimes focus on the things that you can’t control, but that doesn’t always help,” Greaves said after making 27 saves. “I think it was something we were talking about and focusing on today is, what is in our control? Making sure when we get here, the preparation was right, and I think it was. Once we get into the game, it’s like any other game.”
Once the Blue Jackets did arrive at the arena, head coach Dean Evason noted pregame that if the Blue Jackets handled the situation correctly, it would be a positive; if they didn’t, it would be a negative. Once the 4-1 victory over the Senators was over and Columbus never trailed, the answer of how the Jackets approached things was pretty obvious.
Afterward, captain Boone Jenner termed it a “gutsy” win, not to mention the Jackets’ third consecutive victory.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s a different day for sure,” Jenner said. “We’re used to waking up in the city you’re playing in and having a nap, having a pregame meal and all that, so that was all out the window. It was a crazy day to say the least, and when we got here, we just wanted to play for each other. We got here in enough time to get ready and get prepared. I liked our start, and we carried that throughout the game. Credit to the guys.”
2. All 18 skaters and Greaves did their part to ensure the Blue Jackets could leave Ottawa with a victory.
While the travel day was certainly out of the ordinary, let’s also not overstate it. The delayed flight meant players could sleep in their own beds Sunday night, and the hour charter flight clearly didn’t preclude anyone from getting the job done.
But it was another curveball thrown at a team that’s had a few come its way recently. All-Star defenseman Zach Werenski was injured late in the Dec. 20 game at Anaheim and missed a third straight game, while veteran center Sean Monahan was a late scratch in Ottawa after taking warmups but being unable to go because of injury.
Losing your top defenseman and most experienced pivot would be a tough scenario for any team, but it seems like the Blue Jackets have used it as a reason to come together. After all, sometimes it takes a few breaks against you to make everyone get a stronger grip on the rope.
That sure appeared to be the case on Monday night, as the Blue Jackets got contributions from up and down the lineup. Damon Severson ran his point streak to four games with a goal and an assist, while Kirill Marchenko scored a key insurance marker to tally for a third straight game. Jenner and Mateychuk – who turned in another excellent outing in Werenski’s stead – also scored, while Charlie Coyle and Cole Sillinger each had two assists.
The buy-in was there in other places, too, including from Sillinger’s move from wing to center with Monahan out. Mathieu Olivier dropped the gloves and led the team with four hits, while Zach Aston-Reese chipped in three hits. Dante Fabbro and Severson blocked three shots apiece, while Brendan Gaunce won eight of 10 faceoffs.
“Maybe that goes to the situation today where it was going to take every single guy, but I thought it was awesome,” Greaves said. “I thought all six (defenseman), all 12 forwards did a great job tonight. Everyone was bought in. I think there was a lot of consistency throughout how everyone was playing and just playing how we want to for the full 60 minutes, and it was a positive result.”
All sports require each member of the team to do its part to get victories, but hockey is unique in that while a running back may carry the ball 30 times in a win or a basketball star may hoist 30 shots, the team aspect on the ice carries a little extra weight with similar ice times and impacts much more evenly distributed. For the Blue Jackets in Ottawa, there were no weak links, and the result was a key victory.
“Everybody stepped up,” Jenner said. “It’s tough to single out anybody in here. Everybody gave what they had, and just a great effort by everyone. That’s what you need to win games in this league. We’ve done that for a few nights here, so we just want to keep it going.”
3. The Blue Jackets turned in another excellent defensive effort against the Senators.
One thing Columbus did not want to do was get into a track meet, in part because of the travel situation but also because the Sens can score with just about anyone in the NHL. Ottawa entered the game eighth in the NHL in scoring and fourth in power-play percentage, and the Senators had averaged 4.25 goals per game over the last eight entering the contest.
Their plan was to try to keep that going by jumping on the Blue Jackets early, but Columbus not only withstood the pressure, it had a 12-7 edge in shots on goal through 20 minutes.
“You could kind of see they wanted to come out flying,” Severson said. “They wanted to jump on us. Obviously everyone was well aware of what we went through today with our travel schedule, so they tried to come out hot, and we matched the intensity, if not (being) one step above.”
It marked yet another solid defensive performance for the Blue Jackets. After allowing at least three goals in six straight games, Columbus has now ceded just four in the last three contests. A major key has been limiting the grade-A scoring chances of opposing teams, and Ottawa finished with just 1.12 expected goals at 5-on-5 and 1.80 for the full game per Natural Stat Trick.
The CBJ penalty kill also stood out, stopping all four Ottawa power plays – including three in the second period – and allowing just four shots on goal.
“It’s getting better for sure,” Severson said of the defensive effort. “Obviously there’s good teams around the whole league. Skill players are going to get looks. They’re going to make plays. We have a great goaltender in our net making saves, and we’re trying to limit the grade-A’s for sure, keep the shots to the outside, let him see the puck, shots from the point and stuff like that.
“It’s all the simple things, a little bit of a cliches that we’re trying to do to make ourselves successful, but it’s the little things in the game that help you win the game so it’s been big for us.”
