Sometimes in the NHL, you lose a game because the energy just isn’t there. Sometimes, you don’t win because you don’t execute properly.
For the Blue Jackets, Saturday night in Nashville was one of the latter setbacks. Columbus brought the effort but made enough mistakes to see a third-period lead disappear in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Predators.
The Blue Jackets did a lot of good things, but head coach Dean Evason was left disappointed by his team’s inability to limit Nashville's opportunities after taking a 2-0 lead in the second period.
"We were impressed (by how we settled things down late), but we were unimpressed with how we played when we had a two-goal lead,” Evason said. “We turned the puck over constantly and gave them an opportunity to come back at us, and we have to manage the game a hell of a lot better than we did in those situations. The game should have been cleaner than it was, and it wasn't clean here tonight.
“For the most part, to be honest with you, we liked our game, like we liked how we played. We limited a lot of their opportunities. When we didn't turn it over, we were a really good hockey club. When we did, we were very, very average.”
The good news is Columbus was able to get a point in a venue that has been a challenge over the years, and there were still plenty of things to build on. The Blue Jackets played the aggressive, fast-paced style they’ve been touting in the early season, and they got scoring again, with tallies from the top six (Kirill Marchenko), bottom six (Zach Aston-Reese) and the blue line (Zach Werenski).
“I thought we played hard,” Werenski said after the game. “Sometimes we didn't really maybe play smart, but we definitely played well enough to get two points. It just didn't work out tonight.”
The Blue Jackets won’t have long to think about that one, though, with a busy week coming up. Columbus kicks off a stretch of four games in six days – including three at home – tonight with reigning Western Conference champion Edmonton coming to town.
The goal will be to play with the same effort but limit the mistakes against an Oilers team with some of the top weapons in the NHL.
"We're gonna have to watch the tape and kind of figure it out, maybe some details here and there,” Mathieu Olivier said postgame in Nashville. “I thought we generated chances and gave ourselves a chance to win here. So we get a point. We'll take it and go back home for the next game.”
Know The Foe: Edmonton Oilers
Head coach: Kris Knoblauch (Second season)
Team stats: Goals per game: 2.33 (30th) | Scoring defense: 3.22 (17th) | PP: 13.0 percent (27th) | PK: 60.0 percent (32nd)
The narrative: Boasting two of the superstars of the game in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton has continuously built over the years but still hasn’t been able to hoist the elusive Stanley Cup, coming within a game of it a season ago but losing Game 7 of the Final vs. Florida. It’s been a bit of a slow start for the Oilers, just as it was last year, but it still feels like they’ll be in the mix at the end. They may be finding their groove, too, winning two straight including last night’s 3-2 overtime triumph at Detroit.
Team leaders: McDavid and Draisaitl combined for 73 goals and 238 points a season ago, and they again lead the way as McDavid has three goals and 10 points with Draisaitl posting six goals among his 10 points. Mattias Ekholm has a goal among his seven points, while Evan Bouchard – coming off a season in which his 82 points were fourth among NHL defensemen – has a 3-3-6 line.
Stuart Skinner is in line to get the start in Columbus after cementing himself as the No. 1 the past two seasons. He’s 2-3-1 this year with a 3.06 GAA and .890 save percentage.
What's new: Edmonton made some changes in the offseason, acquiring veteran goal scorer Jeff Skinner from Buffalo for young center Ryan McLeod and signing Viktor Arvidsson in free agency. It hasn’t paid off yet – Skinner has two goals while Arvidsson is yet to light the lamp – but the two could add some secondary scoring as the year goes by. It hasn’t helped that Evander Kane is on injured reserve with an abdominal injury, and the team also lost young center Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg to St. Louis via offer sheet over the summer.
Trending: The teams split the two games a year ago, with Edmonton winning 4-1 at home and Columbus taking a 4-2 victory in Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets have won three straight against the Oilers in Nationwide Arena.
Former CBJ: None
