The Blue Jackets Turn the Tide

Matt "The Mask" Garrett carries the flag outside The White House. (Photo by Matt Garrett)

By Rick Gethin

“I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once more able to defend our Island home… If necessary for years, if necessary alone.” ~ Winston Churchill, 4 June 1940

With the way the Blue Jackets played Sunday against the Capitals, you’d think that they took the words of Winston Churchill to heart. They came from behind to take the lead in the 2nd period and then they rode the see-saw of back and forth goal scoring. At the end of 60 minutes the score was knotted at 4-4 between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Washington Capitals. Awaiting the Blue Jackets was their second OT period in as many games. The club, in their road whites, had done their duty by playing a tough 60 minutes of hockey. 1:45 into overtime, RJ Umberger banged home a beautiful cross-crease pass from his captain, Rick Nash to give Columbus the win in the nations capital, 5-4 OT.

The Washington Capitals banner is not quite as bright after losing to the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 OT. (Photo by wfyurasko/Flickr)

The Blue Jackets got off the schnide Sunday in Washington by not getting down on themselves and not giving up. Coach Ken Hitchcock knew this game would be decided by who wanted it more. “It was very much like a playoff game”, he said. The Blue Jackets played with the form that they had earlier in the season. The desire was there and they were driven to win this game.

The scoring was spread around as RJ Umberger and Raffi Torres each got 2 goals while Rick Nash netted another one. The passing was crisper and they used their collective heads when skating the puck out of their own zone. They didn’t let up, even when they had the lead; which was a welcome change from the last few games.

It was a much needed win for this hockey club to prove to themselves that they can, in fact, win a big game. The overall theme coming from the players in the locker room after the game was that this win was HUGE for them. The veterans became more vocal on the bench in the waning minutes of the 3rd period to help set the tone amongst the youngsters.

Raffi Torres summed it up best when he said, “We don’t want to be known as a team that wins a couple of games then loses a bunch (of games)”.

Rick Gethin is the Associate Editor of The Hockey Writers and also the Columbus Blue Jackets correspondent.