Absolute dominance.
That's one way to describe the Blue Jackets' top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Boone Jenner, and Gus Nyquist in Monday night's 3-2 shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
According to moneypuck.com, their on-ice five-on-five expected goals percentage was 89.5, and the on-ice shots on goal were 8-5 in their favor.
The trio combined on both Blue Jackets goals on Monday and did so in fantastic fashion. The first goal came at the end of a possession that had nearly 90 seconds of offensive zone time, leading to a fine feed from Nyquist to Gaudreau.
#CBJ Gaudreau (8) goal pic.twitter.com/uSKGg0ldMZ
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) November 29, 2022
The second goal came after Gaudreau returned the favor to Nyquist with a cross-ice pass of his own, and although Nyquist was stopped by Golden Knights goalie Logan Thompson, Jenner was Johnny-on-the-spot at the right doorstep to score.
#CBJ Jenner (9) goal pic.twitter.com/MeqHDYfUTa
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) November 29, 2022
It seemed like every time the Blue Jackets' top line was out on the ice, something good happened. Not only did they dominate, but they did it against one of the NHL's best teams. Even when Patrik Laine returns from injury, this line shouldn't be broken up.
