SvoNotes: Robinson brothers share a special night in Nationwide Arena

It seems like the entire Robinson family realized it around the same time.
Buddy Robinson was recalled to Anaheim last Wednesday, at which point he and his parents, Bud and Maureen, each looked at the schedule and realized what was about to happen.

There it was -- Anaheim at Columbus in Nationwide Arena on Dec. 9. Buddy would hopefully be suiting up for the Ducks, while Eric Robinson has been an essential part of the CBJ lineup for each of the past two years.
That meant the two brothers, who never played with or against each other because of their four-year age difference, would occupy the same sheet of ice in a competitive game for the first time ever, and they'd do it at the NHL level.
And it ended up coming to fruition on Thursday night, with Eric skating 13:35 and notching an assist for Columbus and Buddy playing 9:57 for Anaheim in the Ducks' 2-1 shootout win.

"First time for us in any league," Buddy
told the Orange County Register pregame
. "The timing couldn't be better. I got the callup and you try not to look too far ahead because you're never sure how long it's going to be. I took a peek at the schedule and saw this one on the road trip and said, 'I better make sure I play well and make it on the trip and get in (the lineup) for this one.' "
Bud and Maureen noticed the same thing and put together plans to hit the road and make the eight-hour drive from their home in South Jersey to Columbus. And there they were in section 116 of Nationwide Arena with Buddy's girlfriend and her family to watch a historic and pretty damn cool night for the family.
"It's a pretty special night for the boys," Bud said. "They've been in the game a long time and they have done well for themselves. It's surprising it's the first time they've ever been on the ice together at the same time. It's pretty special for them. They've talked about it a little bit the last few days, and we are happy to be here to support them."
In a sport dominated by players who were first-round picks and had greatness forecasted for them since they were teenagers -- eight of 18 skaters in the CBJ lineup alone on Thursday night were taken in the first round -- both Robinson brothers had to take the long road.
Buddy, 30, was playing just his third game of the season and the 24th of his NHL career over five seasons. An undrafted free agent who signed with the New Jersey after two years of college hockey at Lake Superior State, he's been a pro since late in 2013 but mostly done it at the AHL level, where he's skated in 477 games.
Eric, meanwhile, just signed a two-year extension with the Blue Jackets thanks to his speed and growing scoring touch. The 26-year-old winger also went the college route, playing four years at Princeton in his native New Jersey before signing with Columbus late in the 2017-18 season. Since making his debut, he's played in 145 NHL games over five seasons and become a regular with the Jackets.
For Bud, one of the coolest parts about seeing his sons play against one another in an NHL game is how hard each had worked to make it happen.
"They persevered," he said. "There were never any expectations. They started playing hockey really young. They were just young guys playing, having a good time. And then at some point with Buddy, we realized that he had an opportunity to play college hockey, so it went from there. Eric being four years behind, he was always like, 'I'm going to do what Buddy is doing.'
"They both had the opportunity to go through NCAAs, and then they both had opportunities after that as well. They've worked hard at it, and they really enjoy it. They've had each other to work together. They're best friends and they push each other and they work hard together."
And in the end, they got to enjoy a moment like Thursday night together.
"It was a pretty special night for the two of us," Eric said. "As you mentioned, with the age gap, we were never able to play together or against each other. For it to happen at this level is obviously pretty special and something we'll be able to look back on and enjoy forever."

A 50-50 Shot

They really don't come much more even than this game, which is perhaps why it took 65 minutes and a shootout to decide things.
While the Blue Jackets finished with a 34-26 edge in shots on goal, a lot of the other numbers were pretty similar.
Per Natural Stat Trick
, at 5-on-5, both the Blue Jackets and Ducks had 25 scoring chances and 10 high-danger chances, while the shot attempt margin was a closer 48-42 in favor of Columbus. In the end, the CBJ also had a small edge of 2.47-2.20 in expected goals at 5-on-5.
Still, that's all quite close, but also, it was an improvement from recent games for the Blue Jackets, who had ceded 4.50 goals per game in the last six contests.
"Yeah, it was a pretty solid effort," head coach Brad Larsen said. "I thought we did a lot of good things there and ran into a pretty good goalie tonight. We had some good looks, but there are going to be tight games. We have to try to find a way to squeak out that other point. But the effort was good. I thought we cleaned up some areas and it was better."

Perhaps most impressive was the team it came against, as Anaheim was just a notch ahead of the Jackets this year in scoring entering the game with 3.26 goals per game, good for 10th in the NHL with Columbus a spot behind.
For the most part, the Jackets did a good job of keeping such names as Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras and Sonny Milano in check. The three combined for four shots on goal, all by Terry, with the lone Ducks goal coming on a breakaway by Isac Lundestrom midway through the first.
Columbus' best scoring chances were likely in the first as well, including a goal by Alexandre Texier eight minutes into the game on a great royal road pass from Robinson. Oliver Bjorkstrand, Jack Roslovic and Justin Danforth had excellent looks from in front in the opening minutes as Columbus threatened to rack up a big early lead, but John Gibson kept the Ducks in it with some impressive saves.
"I feel like we played a really good game," Robinson said. "It felt like we were going to get one at any point in the second and third. It just doesn't happen, but I think we played well and it's definitely something to build off of going on the road."

Another One

As is tradition in Nationwide Arena, the cannon blows after goals, then Locksley's "The Whip" plays as Columbus fans celebrate.
But a new routine is taking over each time the Blue Jackets tally. It's a look at the opposing bench to make sure the coach on the other side is not about to challenge for offside.
And unfortunately for CBJ fans, the other coach is batting 1.000 of late. Anaheim's Dallas Eakins was the latest to get it right, challenging Zach Werenski's goal in the early moments of the second period for offside.
A lengthy reviewed showed the CBJ defenseman was across the blue line before the zone entry, taking his own goal off the board and keeping it a 1-1 game.
"Zach couldn't see the pass," Larsen said, referring to the dish from Jack Roslovic to Jakub Voracek that proceeded the play. "He's trying to look through, by the time he looks, he's off. He came to the bench and he's like, 'I'm pretty sure I'm off.' He knew right away."
It's the kind of thing that happens, but usually not as much as it has recently for the Blue Jackets. It was the fifth time in eight games a CBJ goal has been taken off the board via an offside review.
It seems almost impossible, but reality tells you it's not because it's happened. Four times in this stretch, the Blue Jackets have had a player enter the zone ahead of the puck, like Werenski did Thursday, while the other one was a puck that left the offensive zone by an inch or two before the CBJ goal.
"These guys know what offside is," Larsen said. "It's not like we have to go coach these guys about offside. … It's frustration. Heck, we've done it four or five times, I think, but what do you do? These guys are NHL players. I think they understand the rule, they just have to apply it."

Stats and Facts

• With his goal, Texier ran his point streak to three games (2-2-4) and notched his career-high ninth tally. He has a 7-5-12 line in the last 16 games.
• Robinson now has a four-game point streak as well with a 1-3-4 mark in that span.
• The third member of that line, Sean Kuraly, also tied a career-best three-game point streak with an assist on the Texier goal. He has 2-1-3 in the last three.
• Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins made 25 saves and is now 9-1-1 in Nationwide Arena this season.
• Werenski skated a game-high 30:33 and tied Danforth and Gregory Hoffman with a team-best four shots on goal.
• CBJ defenseman Adam Boqvist played just 4:30, skating two shifts in the second period before leaving with an upper-body injury.
• Hoffman skated 18:29, the most of his NHL career by more than four minutes. The four shots on goal also were a career high.
• Zegras and Rickard Rakell were the shootout scorers for Anaheim, while Voracek tallied for Columbus. Bjorkstrand was stopped while Texier fired wide, telling reporters after the game that unbeknownst to him, his stick was broken for the attempt.
• Columbus had been a perfect 5-0 in overtime/shootouts this year but fell for the first time.
• The Blue Jackets stretched their home point streak to five straight (4-0-1) and are now 9-3-1 in Nationwide Arena on the season.
• The visiting team improved to 4-0-1 in the last five games of the series with each of those contests decided by a single goal.
• Former CBJ first-round pick Milano was shown on the video board in the first period and given a round of applause by the Jackets faithful. He skated 16:52, finishing without a shot on goal.