The Stanley Cup Playoffs have not started, and the Blue Jackets have left themselves a fair amount of work to get there.
But there was no mistaking the fact that what CBJ fans saw Thursday night in Nationwide Arena was playoff-style hockey. The Blue Jackets and defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers battled for every inch of ice over 60-plus minutes in the kind of intense, edge-of-your-seat, battle-heavy hockey that comes along with ever-changing Ohio weather and March Madness basketball.
“You guys have talked about playoff hockey,” CBJ head coach Dean Evason said postgame. “That’s as playoff as you get, I would think.”
And in the end, a tough break was the difference. Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko tried to clear the puck in the final minute and instead batted it over the glass, resulting in a delay of game penalty; Florida scored in overtime and left Columbus with a 1-0 victory.
You could say it was an anticlimactic end to a fantastic hockey game, and it left the Blue Jackets again with two minds. On the positive side, you couldn’t fault the effort in any way, as Columbus went toe-to-toe with one of the top teams in hockey and was every bit their equal.
On the other side, though, it was another night where the Blue Jackets fell short of getting the two points. Though Columbus got a point, it was the team’s fifth straight loss and seventh in eight games, and while every point in the standings is critical this time of year, every point that gets away could be the difference between playoff hockey and an offseason of what ifs.
That balance was reflected in Evason’s postgame comments.
“We're not happy in that dressing room,” he said. “There's no like, 'Oh, good, we played great against the Stanley Cup champions.' We're (upset). But did we do the right things to obviously get a point? Did we catch a bad break trying to do the right thing? Yeah. So we're real positive -- after we're (upset)."
The biggest issue right now is in the goal-scoring department, as the shutout marked the third time in four games the Blue Jackets were blanked. Columbus has just one goal in the last four games, though it hasn’t been for a lack of trying – they put 46 shots on New Jersey goalie Jake Allen on Monday, then created quality opportunity after quality opportunity on Thursday only to see Sergei Bobrovsky turn them all aside.
It feels like the dam has to burst at some point, but time is of the essence.
“I think our game throughout, it’s our style of play, tight throughout defensively,” captain Boone Jenner said. “Offensively, we’re getting there, getting chances. They just weren’t going. It’s obviously on us to get one and get those breaks going our way.”
On the other side of things, though, the team has raised its level over the past few games and shown the intense, defense-first style that plays well this time of year. They’ll have to do that again tonight to leave Pittsburgh with a win as they battle a Penguins team that matches the Blue Jackets on the desperation scale.
“The good news is we have an opportunity to show that we’ve learned something tomorrow,” Sean Kuraly said postgame. “Quick turnaround, and I think when you’re in these situations, you want to prove that you’ve learned something, and we have a chance to do that tomorrow.”
Know The Foe: Pittsburgh Penguins
Head coach: Mike Sullivan (10th season)
Team stats: Goals per game 2.90 (19th) | Scoring defense: 3.56 (31st) | PP: 24.0 percent (11th) | PK: 77.3 percent (18th)
The narrative: The Pittsburgh dynasty remains closer to the end than the beginning, as the Pens are eight points out of a playoff spot heading into tonight and will need a winning streak to avoid a third straight season without playoff hockey. Given that, It’s fair to say the days of the Penguins being a true Stanley Cup contender are in the rearview mirror, but it’s still a team that knows how to win games – especially at home against Columbus – behind such veterans as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
Team leaders: The irony is that while the Pens' team success has dropped off since the Stanley Cup seasons of 2016 and ‘17, it’s through no fault of Crosby. One year after a 42-goal season that was third best of his career, the ageless Crosby – well, he is 37 – is 11th in the NHL with 50 assists, tied for 14th with 74 points and third in the NHL in home points with a 15-32-47 line. Rickard Rakell is having his best season in Pittsburgh with a team-best 31 goals among his 59 points, while Malkin has a 13-31-44 line in 60 games at age 38. Bryan Rust has added 22 goals among his 49 points, while Erik Karlsson leads the defense with 10 goals and 49 points.
The Pens have three goalies with at least 12 starts, and Ohio native Alex Nedeljkovic leads the squad with 32. He’s posted a 12-14-5 record, 3.17 GAA and .891 save percentage, while Tristan Jarry (26 starts, 12-9-4, 3.13, .894) and youngster Joel Blomqvist (12 starts, 4-9-1, 3.81, .885) have also manned the net.
What's new: Perhaps the biggest thing that stands out about the Penguins is they’ve iced 41 different players this season because of injuries and other factors, and it feels like there’s been a constant churn in the team’s roster this year. There’s been plenty of ups and downs, including a 6-10-3 start, a rebound to get back into the playoff race, a 1-6-1 run after the 4 Nations break and then a four-game win streak to keep their playoff hopes alive. Pittsburgh lost its last game at home to the Islanders to end that streak and remains on the outside looking in, but the Pens at least have to believe they’re within striking distance.
Trending: In a change of pace, Columbus has won both previous matchups this season after dropping 19 of 23 games in the series from 2017-18 until last season. Columbus took a 6-2 win in the first meeting Nov. 15 at Nationwide Arena, then snapped a 15-game losing streak in Pittsburgh on Jan. 7 with a 4-3 shootout victory over the Pens.
Former CBJ: Forward Emil Bemstrom has been one of the most productive players in the AHL this season (21-25-46 in 43 games) but hasn’t been able to duplicate that success in Pittsburgh, posting a 0-1-1 line in 10 games with the Pens this year.
