It wasn’t the way they would have liked, but the Blue Jackets clinched a playoff spot for the second consecutive season. They were outplayed by the Penguins but some timely goal scoring and Sergei Bobrovsky kept them in the game and secured them the point they needed.
Here are five thoughts from the overtime loss:
Line matching
Line matching is a big thing to watch during the playoffs. You want to get the mismatches where you can. In the first period, John Tortorella was able to do that and got his top line out there against the Penguins third line, and it went about exactly as you would expect. The Jackets dominated and it led to Zach Werenski’s 16th goal of the season. Throughout the rest of the game, however, Panarin was matched up against Sidney Crosby and as most players do, he struggled. Panarin played 12:19 head-to-head against Crosby at 5-on-5 and had a pedestrian 31.25% Corsi.
Matty Hustle
My oh my Matt Calvert...are you kidding me? Calvert doesn’t play much, playing predominantly on the fourth line, but he is still a valuable piece to this team. He plays a ton on the penalty kill, and every once in a while reminds you why he is such a fan favorite in Columbus.
Dirrrrrrrrrrrrrty goal from Calvert.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/NkG5zBXnW6
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) April 5, 2018
Stay out of the box
Taking penalties is never a good idea. When you play a team with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel, it is particularly important to stay out of the box. The Jackets were unable to do so, and it cost them. They only took three penalties but it was enough for the Penguins to capitalize – they scored two power play goals and both of them tied the game. If these teams are going to meet in the playoffs, the Jackets' penalty needs to step up big time.
Not a rivalry
Every time these teams play each other, this comes up. Sure the Blue Jackets are not Pittsburgh's biggest rival, but Pittsburgh is certainly Columbus’ biggest rival. I mean just look at this:
Not a rivalry, huh? #CBJ pic.twitter.com/J70a1WdIaG
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) April 5, 2018
Call it whatever you want, but these teams do not like each other and it shows every time they meet. Another playoff series between these teams would be so much fun.
Yes he Cam
I just wrote about how under-appreciated it is, but Cam Atkinson is taking this to another level. He scored again tonight, a huge goal at the time to put the Jackets up 4-3 in the third period. He now has 11 goals in his last 11 games, many of which have been big goals just like this.
That's 11 goals in the last 11 games for Cam Atkinson. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/Rya0rBQj98
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) April 6, 2018
