Game 2 Preview: Following A Marathon Loss, Columbus Blue Jackets Looking To Rebound Versus Tampa Bay Lightning

To say their games in both the Stanley Cup Qualifying series and now the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs have been turbulent would be a vast understatement. Their back-and-forth with the Toronto Maple Leafs ended on Sunday only to be followed up by a historically long 3-2 five-overtime loss on Tuesday in their first game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

TBL 1, COL 0 • FIRST ROUND
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
43–21–6 (92 points) ROSTER / SCHEDULE
3 P.M. – THURSDAY, AUG. 13 SCOTIABANK ARENA TORONTO, ON
FOX SPORTS OHIO, NBCSN FOX SPORTS GO

None of what has happened with Columbus in the postseason is for the faint of heart.

"I think there's a belief," Nick Foligno said on Wednesday. "Things are going to go wrong in games. I think we've all realized it's how we respond to it – it'll eventually give us our outcome. We just want to have the best response, whether that's in between the ears or physically. We're going to do whatever it takes to be ready for the next game and the next shift. You look around the room. I see that in every guy. So that's where I know whether we falter one game or have success next, the guy's going to be ready to go the next step of the way. That's been built by the group here."

Columbus will get a chance to respond on Thursday afternoon in Game 2 of the seven-game series with the Lightning. The puck will drop at 3 p.m., offering the Blue Jackets the opportunity to tie the series at 1-1.

Part of the challenge for Columbus, of course, will be to figure out how to come back from a five-overtime loss that ended less than 48 hours ago to pick up its first win of the series.

"We’ve put in a lot of minutes here in the past five or six days," coach John Tortorella said. "The coaching staff here is nothing but impressed with our group, how they've handled themselves here in the bubble and how they just get ready to play each and every game."

The physical nature that's become the identity of the Blue Jackets in the Tortorella Era has been evident. Their never-say-die mentality has always been evident. Both will be needed again on Thursday for the second game of the series.

Yet beyond simply the physical response to the five-overtime loss, Columbus will need improved play across the board – well, almost across the board.

Goaltender Joonas Korpisalo saved 85 shots on Tuesday, and Columbus will again rely on him to steady itself. He did a remarkable job keeping his team in Game 1, and he'll be counted on again versus what was the NHL's No. 1 goal-scoring team in the regular season.

Elsewhere, Korpisalo needs some help.

The Blue Jackets have only managed 2.33 goals per game in the playoffs, which is below even the 2.57 goals per game they averaged in the regular season that ranked 27th in the league. Their offensive efficiency has been nonexistent, and they've only managed to score once on 19 power-play opportunities across six games. Oliver Bjorkstrand finally got out of his funk with a goal on Tuesday. Along with Cam Atkinson, Pierre-Luc Dubois and the rest of the Blue Jackets, in order to top Tampa Bay, he and his team need to generate more offense with cleaner scoring chances.

“I think this group, especially, has been together a while here. We just have such a belief in each other and a trust, and I think you can see that.”– Nick Foligno

Columbus Blue Jackets Projected Lines

Tampa Bay Lightning Projected Lines

Storylines

• Who recovers faster: Much has been – and will be – made about these two teams bouncing back from Tuesday's game. In Tortorella's mind, he can't ever allow Columbus players to get tired. That, however, starts to become unrealistic when you're talking about a five-overtime game that came less than a week after two other overtime games. It'll be difficult for the Blue Jackets to regain their physical form, but they know how quickly things can change in a series if they're able to do so. They learned that in the thrilling back-and-forth with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Plus, it's not as if the Lightning didn't play five overtimes two days ago, either.
• Avoiding going down, 2-0: So far, Columbus has neither won nor lost back-to-back games in this year's postseason. This, of course, would be an inopportune moment for that streak to end. If Tampa Bay can follow up its five-overtime victory with another win, the Blue Jackets would suddenly find themselves needing to win four of the following five games, which would inarguably be a challenge for a team that's been so inconsistent offensively. On Thursday, Columbus needs to knot the series up at one win apiece.
• Can Korpi keep it up?: Korpisalo was excellent in the five-overtime game, racking up the most saves in modern NHL history and coming within 10 saves of a mark set in the 1930s. One way or another, the Blue Jackets will need their 26-year-old All-Star to maintain his strong play for the duration of the series. For now, Elvis Merzlikins will be out with an undisclosed injury, meaning Tortorella has nowhere else to go if Korpisalo lets in a few goals. The lack of depth combined with Columbus' issues scoring mean the Blue Jackets need everything they can get from Korpisalo – again.