After CBJ wins, we'll give three takeaways about what stood out or what we'll remember from the Blue Jackets' victory.
BLUE JACKETS 4, CANADIENS 3 (SHOOTOUT)
1. It was a rocky road, but the Blue Jackets were able to gut their way to two points against Montreal.
Through 40 minutes, things were going pretty swimmingly for the Jackets, who had found a way to build a 3-1 lead through a rather uneventful two periods.
The first few minutes of the third period followed on the same track – until, with 11:32 to go, Lane Hutson threw a puck at the net that ricocheted off a few bodies onto the stick of former CBJ forward Josh Anderson, who turned the fortuitous bounce past Jet Greaves to make it a 3-2 game.
Slowly but surely, after that, Montreal gained a grip on possession, and then the Canadiens truly carried play the final few minutes. Finally, with the Habs’ net empty, Mathieu Olivier broke a stick and Hutson tied the score with 1:19 to go when he shot through a screen and snuck it by Greaves.
Though the Blue Jackets would go on to win in a shootout, it certainly wasn't the easiest road to get there. Perhaps most frustrating is it wasn’t the first time it had happened, as so far this month Columbus has watched both the Islanders and Oilers score late goals on the way to stealing wins. Pittsburgh also erased a two-goal deficit late to force the Blue Jackets to a shootout, and both St. Louis and Edmonton pushed Columbus to the brink but couldn’t find late equalizers.
It's always better to learn lessons in wins than in losses, and no one apologizes for wins in the NHL, but the Blue Jackets acknowledge they have to be better at closing out games.
“It’s one of those things where it is human nature to get back on our heels a little bit to protect the lead, but it’s for all the right reasons,” Zach Werenski said. “I feel like in order to close out games the right way, we have to be on the attack, staying above guys. We can still be physical and create a forecheck and battle down there.
“At the end of the day, we have to play with confidence with the puck on our stick, myself included. There’s times in the third tonight I was kind of chucking it away. It’s one of those things where each of us individually have to be more aware of it and work on it.”
As with many things in hockey, it’s a situation where little things can become big things in a hurry. All it takes is one faceoff win in a key situation or one quicker decision to make the difference between a puck in the back of your own net or an insurance goal on the other side.
For his part, Dean Evason isn’t hitting the panic button, though. While the Blue Jackets have watched some late leads disappear and others be threatened, the head coach both acknowledges his team has to be better at staying on the attack while also noting that teams are naturally going to push against the Jackets in those situations.
“To say there’s a theme, no, there’s no theme,” Evason said. “It’s different things happening. We lose coverage on their second (goal) and we break our stick on the 6-on-5, which makes it a 6-on-4. (The tying goal is) a wrist shot that goes through a screen and hits Jet.
"So yeah, I mean, are we disappointed that we didn’t win in regulation? Of course. But are we beating ourselves up for letting the lead slip away? No.”
2. Kirill Marchenko’s march into the CBJ history books helped push the Blue Jackets to another victory.
If it feels like the Russian dynamo is on the scoresheet in every game, it’s because, well, he is. Marchenko posted two assists – as well as the shootout winner – to extend his point streak to 12 games, just one short of a franchise record.
Marchenko tied Cam Atkinson (2018-19) for the second-longest streak in team history, and he can equal Ryan Johansen’s mark of 13 straight games set in 2014-15 with a point Tuesday night in Winnipeg.
While Adam Fantilli and Dmitri Voronkov were the goal scorers who converted Marchenko’s passes Monday night, it’s fair to say Marchenko’s generosity had a big impact on the plays. First, Fantilli broke a 1-1 tie midway through the second period from in front of the net after Voronkov created some chaos behind the CBJ net, then Marchenko swooped in to grab the loose puck and immediately fed Fantilli in front.
“His takeaways and stuff like that are phenomenal,” Fantilli said of the play. “He has such a good stick. He knows how to keep possession and get it back, he has quick stick lifts, quick little plays where he can keep the puck on his stick and get it back. He’s done a phenomenal job of that this year, and it’s helped us out creating offense a lot.”
Just a few minutes later, Marchenko again had the primary assist on the goal that made it 3-1. On the power play, Werenski did a solid job of fighting off a defender and finding Marchenko in the right circle, and he sized up the defense before threading a seeing-eye pass to Voronkov at the back post for the quick redirection past Jakub Dobes.
