The Blue Jackets started this game with a different bent.
Key word: started.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| ISLANDERS | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
It was the type of ornery game we saw last season when they overwhelmed opponents and made it a miserable night to play the team from Columbus. The Islanders weren’t ready for it and spent the majority of the first period fishing pucks out from their own end; the Blue Jackets raced to a 19-9 shot advantage and attempted 28 shots in the first 14 minutes.
Josh Anderson’s first career power play goal — his team-leading 16th goal of the season — gave them a richly deserved 1-0 lead early on.
They set a new franchise record with 26 shots in the first period, had 19 scoring chances in the opening 20 minutes and of course…were locked in a 1-1 tie after Nick Leddy beat Joonas Korpisalo for a power play goal late in the frame. That’s life for the Blue Jackets right now, who could (and should) have had three or four goals in the first period alone.
Some adversity hit in the second period, but the Blue Jackets were ready.
The Islanders briefly took a 2-1 lead on a deflected shot from the center point. Anthony Beauviller took the shot and Josh Bailey got a piece of it on the way in, and Korpisalo had no chance on a short-range deflection.
And one of the guys the Blue Jackets are counting on to get going did just that to answer the bell.
Artemi Panarin, doing the beautiful hockey things he does, intercepted an ill-advised clearing pass right along the offensive blue line then found Cam Atkinson roaring down the right wing. Atkinson unleashed a half-slapper that Halak could only watch sail past him on the glove side — his second goal since returning from injury, giving him points in each game since he came back.
You want more encouraging news on the offensive front? Enter captain Nick Foligno.
His line survived a shift from the John Tavares line, and after a turnover, Oliver Bjorkstrand hit Foligno with a lead pass and he turned it into a breakaway. Foligno cut to his backhand and dropped a slick finish behind Halak for a 3-2 Columbus lead, and that’s how they’d enter the third period.
Mark it down — the Blue Jackets won (!) the second period. It happened. We saw it.
Foligno’s goal meant that, for the first time since mid-December, the Blue Jackets scored three goals in regulation in the same game. Hard to believe, isn’t it?
But you knew the Islanders weren’t done; not even three minutes into the third period they pulled even at 3-3, and because the Blue Jackets penalty killing is an all-world struggle, it was a 4-3 Islanders lead a few minutes later. Technically, the Blue Jackets killed the penalty, but it was a 5-on-4 situation and Columbus was a nightmare around its own net. Brock Nelson had what amounted to a lay-up in front of Korpisalo.
Despite 50 shots on goal and nearly 40 scoring chances, the Blue Jackets couldn't find a fourth one. They should have had this game, a game they needed, and instead left Brooklyn with nothing.
The Islanders beat the Blue Jackets for the first time in five meetings and pulled within a point of Columbus in the division standings.
Injury Update
The lone injury for the Blue Jackets right now is defenseman Ryan Murray, who's out with a back injury and has no timetable for a return to action.
Next Up
Another big test is on tap for the Blue Jackets, who return home to face the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena.
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