After CBJ wins, we'll give three takeaways about what stood out or what we'll remember from the Blue Jackets victory.
RECAP: BLUE JACKETS 3, FLYERS 2
1. Daniil Tarasov stopped 23 of 25 shots to earn Blue Jackets’ fifth straight win.
After he got off to a 3-1 start to the season, Tarasov lost six straight games, one being an overtime loss, which resulted in his starts becoming few and far between. His last start for the Blue Jackets before Tuesday night's victory came Dec. 28 and was in a 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins.
Tarasov was able to shake off the recent struggles, return to his game and find success against the Flyers, which included two saves in the shootout.
“He was awesome tonight," Zach Werenski said. "Just super calm in the net. Made all the big saves, made all the saves he needed to make, and was perfect in the shootout. So yeah, hats off to him for the work he's put in lately. I'm really excited for him.”
Not playing for weeks can be difficult for a goaltender and can cause them to struggle to stay sharp for when they are called upon. In order to help Tarasov shake off the rust and find his game, the Blue Jackets elected to send him to AHL Cleveland this past weekend for a conditioning assignment. There, he played in two games against the Laval Rocket (Montreal's AHL affiliate), the first being a 5-0 loss Friday which he followed up the next night with a 2-1 overtime win.
“I'm happy that we got two points and he was a part of it,” head coach Dean Evason said. “He did the work, as we talked about, did the right things by committing to playing hockey, and his game was ready.”
Tarasov believes that the conditioning assignment was what he needed to feel more comfortable in net and refocus his play.
“It was really helpful. You know, two games in two days was kind of, I didn't really think much in the second game,” Tarasov said. “Just trying to play, like letting the puck come to me, be like, one puck at a time.”
He is looking forward to more opportunities now that he has regained some confidence and earned a win.
“Now I'm focusing on my game and getting back on track," he said, "getting good practice sessions and ready for the next game."
2. The Blue Jackets finding ways to win amid a tight playoff race.
On Dec. 18, the Blue Jackets were 26th in the overall NHL stnadings and five points back of a wild card spot. With the playoffs looking more and more out of reach thanks to losses in eight of nine games, they turned their season around.
Now, after a 9-2-1 stretch, the Jackets have solidified themselves as a team in the playoff hunt. Much of the turnaround has been from the team learning different ways to win in the NHL.
There is no game more evident of this than their win against the Flyers. Evason made sure the team knew they were not necessarily going to be able to play the free-wheeling style that had marked most of their home victories and wanted them to be able to earn a result nonetheless.
“We talked in between both periods about that – this is not your typical game,” Evason said. “So did we have our typical offensive game? No. But did we have our muck game? Yeah."
The Flyers have had the Blue Jackets’ number going into this game as their previous two meetings resulted in a 5-3 home loss on Dec. 12 and a 5-4 overtime loss on Dec. 21. However, Evason’s team learned from those games and came into this one knowing what they needed to do to win.
“The guys, you have to play in different ways," Evason said. "It was just a grinding, in the mud, muck game, and both teams were committed. It was a good hockey game."
This win was a good indicator that the Jackets are moving in the right direction and have learned from previous games this season. There were times earlier this year when the team did not play up to their standard and, as a result, dropped games that have proven to be costly. However, on this night Werenski said he was happy how the team responded after going down 2-1 in the third period.
“I don't really think we had our game tonight fully, but we found a way to get a win,” Werenski said. “Just kept sticking to the game plan. It wasn't pretty, but we found a way to get two points.”
3. Kirill Marchenko used a former teammate's moves to seal the game.
On Jan. 28, 2021, Alexandre Texier utilized a new shootout move against the Florida Panthers and the hockey world took notice. The one-handed poke move known as the ‘firepoker’ has been replicated a few times now in the NHL, including by Marchenko, who pulled out the move for the winning shootout goal against the Flyers.
“I have no idea what he did; that is foreign to me,” Evason said. “It's phenomenal. But, yeah, I don't know if I've seen it.”
Marchenko first used Texier’s famous move almost a year ago to the day in a shootout win against the Vancouver Canucks. Now, he is 2-for-2 when going with the firepoker. Marchenko joked that he gave Texier a little royalty, but that he wasn't sure what he was going to do until he scored the deciding goal against Ivan Fedotov.
“I don't think about what's on my mind," he said. "I just know I need to score a goal and we need a win. Don't think and try to do what I can do."
His move impressed his coach, who jokingly said he will not be trying to use it anytime soon.
“It's crazy. It was pretty special,” Evason said.
