You can point to a fair number of areas in which the Blue Jackets have made progress this year, but one of the biggest has been in holding leads.
One season ago, the Blue Jackets were 18-1-7 when leading after two periods, and those eight losses were tied for the third most in the NHL when ahead after 40 minutes. This year, Columbus is 6-0-1, and twice in the past week – Friday vs. Pittsburgh and Monday at Boston – the Blue Jackets have turned tight games into blowouts by the end when leading after two.
It might be a bit too early to call it a killer instinct, but the Blue Jackets have started to show an ability to put games away against veteran squads.
“We were just playing our game in the third period, not really holding back and playing defense,” Zach Werenski said of the Boston game. “We were on the attack, we scored some goals, and I think that’s awesome for us. It’s definitely something we can build on, especially against a good team in Boston and a tough building to play in. It's a great third period for us and something we can build on.”
The Blue Jackets did it by getting back to what they want their identity to be – getting on the forecheck, causing turnovers and putting pressure on the opposing team.
“We didn't do anything crazy,” Mathieu Olivier said. “We just kept putting the puck deep and pressuring them, staying above them. It seems like every time we win, we just say that, and it's our recipe for success in this room. So, take that in our notes and move on and look forward to Thursday.”
Tonight’s game back in Nationwide, where the Blue Jackets have won four of five, presents another big challenge as a Tampa Bay team that has won plenty of games over the past few seasons. Columbus didn’t play a perfect game in Boston – especially early, when a bevy of turnovers didn’t come back to bite the team largely because of the strong play of Elvis Merzlikins – but did enough good things they feel they can carry over into tonight.
“Elvis did his job to keep us in there, and then in the end, we buckled down, we calmed down, we simplified our game,” head coach Dean Evason said. “Certainly when we had the lead, we did a lot of good things late in that third period in order to preserve the game.”
Know The Foe: Tampa Bay Lightning
Head coach: Jon Cooper (12th season)
Team stats: Goals per game: 3.53 (7th) | Scoring defense: 2.76 (9th) | PP: 18.5 percent (17th) | PK: 78.2 percent (20th)
The narrative: The Lightning has made the playoffs in 10 of the last 11 seasons and won the 2020 and ‘21 Stanley Cups, making the squad a true NHL dynasty over more than a decade. But the signs that things are starting to wind down are there, including the offseason departure of franchise icon Steven Stamkos as well as consecutive first-round playoff exits. It’s still a veteran team with plenty of star power that knows how to win, even if it is a little long in the tooth these days.
Team leaders: Two-time Art Ross Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov is off to another excellent start at age 31, as the Russian wing is 10th in the NHL with 26 points, including a team-best 11 goals. Three players are next with 17 points apiece – Brandon Hagel (8-9-17), Jake Guentzel (7-10-17), Anthony Cirelli (5-12-17) and Victor Hedman (4-13-17) – while Brayden Point has 10 goals.
In net, Andrei Vasilevskiy’s streak of five straight top-five finishes in the Vezina voting ended last season, but he could be back this year, as he’s 9-5-1 in an NHL-best 15 starts with a 2.13 GAA and .919 save percentage.
What's new: The team’s all-time leader in games played, goals and points, Stamkos left for Nashville in the offseason, but the Bolts found a ready-made replacement in Guentzel, a longtime CBJ killer. Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev also was dealt in the summer to Utah for talented young forward Conor Geekie and defenseman J.J. Moser. A four-game losing skid in which the Lightning gave up 4.25 goals per game has been followed by a three-game winning streak including Wednesday’s OT win at Pittsburgh.
Trending: Columbus won one of the three contests last season, taking a 4-2 victory in Nationwide Arena in November before dropping games in February in Columbus and April in Tampa. The Bolts’ consistent success has made them a tough out for the Blue Jackets, as Columbus is 5-15-4 in the series since the 2017-18 season began.
Former CBJ: Now 35 years old, Cam Atkinson signed a one-year deal in Tampa Bay this offseason and has played in 11 games with one assist.
