After CBJ wins, we'll give three takeaways about what stood out or what we'll remember from the Blue Jackets victory.
1. The Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series experience didn’t just live up to the expectations, it exceeded them.
I was thinking about this the other day, that we’ve overused such words as amazing, unbelievable, and the rest to the point that they’ve almost lost all context and meaning. As a friend said to me the other day, was the sandwich really unbelievable? I’m sure it was great, but you can probably believe how good it was.
But as those superlatives and words like “unreal” and “incredible” were uttered in the Blue Jackets – well, Ohio State football – locker room after the win over the Red Wings, you couldn’t help but agree that they summed up how it felt to be among the more 94,751 in Ohio Stadium on Saturday night.
It’s an experience this franchise and pretty much everyone supporting the Blue Jackets in the venue will remember forever. It took more than two decades for the NHL to bring one of its marquee events to Columbus, but it was more than worth the wait.
“I definitely knew this day was going to be special,” captain Boone Jenner said, “but I was still blown away coming here today.”
It was a celebration of Blue Jackets hockey, of the Columbus community and a strong nod to the NHL that this is a market that has fully embraced the sport and the team. When the game was announced a year ago, some wondered if there would be sections of empty seats in the venerable Horseshoe, and all CBJ fans did was produce the second-largest crowd in NHL history despite below-freezing temperatures and gusting winds.
Some fans were out as early as 8 a.m. to set up tailgates, and by early afternoon, droves of fans began heading to Ohio State’s campus to check out pregame events. The pregame pep rally in St. John Arena was filled to the brim to welcome the Blue Jackets to the venue, and crowds lined the length of the team walk to the stadium.
From there, the Horseshoe took over the rest, with the more than 100-year-old building still proving she has her fastball. The iconic double-decked venue inspired by classical Roman architecture has long been one of the most recognizable venues in American sport, and it proved particularly well-suited to outdoor hockey.
Add in two teams battling tooth and nail for playoff positioning and the stage couldn't have been set any better. By the time Justin Danforth put home the game-winning goal with 2:17 left, breaking a 3-3 tie, you couldn’t have scripted this any better.
“Quite a magical moment tonight,” Mathieu Olivier said.
2. The Blue Jackets won this game for Johnny Gaudreau.
It’s been a season of tributes for the Blue Jackets star who passed away this summer, with Johnny Hockey’s memory never very far from the team, the organization or the fan base. On a stage that combined everything Gaudreau loved – hockey, family and community – the Blue Jackets made it very clear from their arrival on campus that No. 13 was with them.
It’s become a tradition for teams to come up with special outfits to wear for their arrival to outdoor games, and the Blue Jackets walked into Ohio Stadium looking like they had raided Gaudreau’s closet. Columbus players wore matching blue Avalon Surf Shop hoodies, black sweatpants, Uggs boots and Amiri three-star hats, a signature look of Gaudreau.
“It just reminds us of him,” Jenner said. “That’s why we did it. There’s so many days we’ve seen him come to the rink like that, and we have some pictures that he’s pretty much wearing the same thing. It just puts some good memories in our minds.
“He was here with us tonight. He’s been here with us all season. We’ve played for him, and tonight, obviously he was here. We wanted to honor him the best way that we could, and not only doing that but playing as he would play.”
In addition, CBJ players were led onto the ice for the game by members of the Gaudreau family, including his mother, Jane; his wife, Meredith; his daughter, Noa; and his son, Johnny Jr. At one point during the game, fans passed a banner with Gaudreau’s name and No. 13 through the east stands.
CBJ head coach Dean Evason has been part of two previous outdoor games, but when asked what made this one unique, he had a quick answer.
“Johnny -- simple as that,” said Evason, who at one point became a bit choked up when talking about Gaudreau. “Obviously it’s nice to get the two points. That’s extremely important, but the most important thing was the presence of Johnny and his family here tonight.”
Evason saw one more sign that Gaudreau’s presence was there. At the end of the team’s Friday practice in the stadium, Jenner was selected to take the open-net shot that determines how many laps the team takes to finish their work, which has become known as the “Johnny skate.”
Jenner missed the shot wide, and as a result, he didn’t have better luck Saturday. The captain had a chance to ice the game with a look at an open net and the Jackets up 4-3, but his shot hit the post and caromed away.
"I think Johnny was messing with him a little bit,” Evason said.
2. Danforth’s showed again why he’s such a big piece of the CBJ puzzle.
One of the smallest players on the ice had an outsized impact on this one, as the 5-foot-8 forward made a fantastic individual effort to put the Blue Jackets on top for good.
Columbus had watched its 3-1 lead to start the second period evaporate with Alex DeBrincat’s second goal of the night with 3:24 to go, and the Red Wings were buzzing and looking to take their first lead of the game when Danforth created the winner.
Zach Aston-Reese flipped the puck off the wall and high out of the CBJ defensive zone, with Danforth chasing it into the neutral zone. Red Wings defensemen Albert Johansson and Simon Edvinsson were there to seemingly field it with a fair catch, but Danforth had other plans. When the puck hit the ice and bounced over the blue line, Danforth got his stick underneath Edvinsson’s and muscled him away.
Danforth may have gotten away with a high stick as his blade appeared to catch Edvinsson up high, but no whistle was made, and the CBJ center tracked down the puck and suddenly had a clean look on goalie Cam Talbot.
The Detroit netminder made the first save, but Danforth had the presence of mind to follow his own rebound, drag it to the forehand and quickly put the puck past Talbot to set off another massive cannon concussion in the stadium.
