The Columbus Blue Jackets prospects were as advertised in a dominating win over the Dallas Stars on Friday. Pierre-Luc Dubois, Vitaly Abramov, and Paul Bittner each netted a pair, and Matiss Kivlenieks was steady in his first real taste of competitive hockey above the United States Hockey League (USHL).
Our first W2W4 piece for this tournament was basically prophetic, as Dubois, Abramov, and Kivlenieks all stood out in a big way in the tournament opener. But new challenges will arise as the tournament draws on with a tougher opponent in the Minnesota Wild.
What should you, the content-craving fan, be watching for against the Wild?
Comeback Kids
You don't hear of comebacks like this all too often, but the Minnesota Wild turned the improbable into reality on Friday evening, rallying back from four goals down in the third period to beat the St. Louis Blues.
What a comeback by the Wild.. down 5-1 with nine to play, score five goals in eight minutes to take a 6-5 lead with one minute left.
— Dan Myers (@1DanMyers) September 8, 2017
While the Blue Jackets' first game always immediately seemed to feel out of reach for the Dallas Stars, clearly the Minnesota prospects are a different challenge. In fact, in many ways, Columbus' roster mirrors Minnesota's: the Wild are led by 2015 and 2016 first-round picks Joel Eriksson Ek and Luke Kunin, and their roster features nine additional draft picks. The Jackets, meanwhile, rely heavily on their own 2015/2016 first-rounders, Gabriel Carlsson and Pierre-Luc Dubois.
Top Line Domination
We knew going into the tournament that the Blue Jackets' first line of Dubois, Abramov, and Calvin Thurkauf would be crucial to the overall success of the team, but who could have predicted that type of onslaught?
The top line combined for a staggering 10 points and a +11 rating, led by a 2-3-5 (goals-assists-points) night from Abramov, a two-goal game from Dubois, and three assists from Thurkauf. Will they be able to keep this type of pace through the tournament? It would seem unlikely, but who am I to say they won't?
Defensive Anonymity
Lost in the shuffle of the first game was the play of the Blue Jackets team defense. Aside from allowing a 5-on-3 goal against, the only other blemish came on a misplay by Kivlenieks.
This is a defense with not only some high-end draft picks, namely Carlsson, but also former second-round pick Ryan Collins. However, it also featured four (of six) players who were either signed as undrafted free agents (Jacob Graves), are free agent invites (Scott Savage), or were formerly drafted by a different team and have since signed with the Blue Jackets (Stephen Desrocher - Toronto Maple Leafs and Doyle Somerby - New York Islanders).
All that is to say that this is largely an unproven defense. While they performed well against a less-vaunted offensive threat in the Stars, it will be interesting to see how they handle pressure against more skilled teams as the tournament progresses.
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