The Columbus Blue Jackets had three days to get ready for the Calgary Flames after a poor performance at home against the Detroit Red Wings. It resulted in their best overall performance of the early season.
The Blue Jackets skated away with a 3-1 win over the Flames on Friday night at Nationwide Arena. The win puts the Blue Jackets at 2-2-0 on the young season. They finally get to play their first road game of the season Saturday night in Minnesota.
The story of this win for the Blue Jackets was two-fold. They got their best performance from their fourth line in a long time. They also got a great performance from their backup goaltender.
Fourth Line Brought the Offense
Most of the attention when looking at the Blue Jackets’ offense is focused on their top-nine. With the likes of Johnny Gaudreau, Patrik Laine, Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson among others, they present their biggest threat to score.
However on this night, it was Sean Kuraly’s line who dominated. He along with wingers Jack Roslovic and Justin Danforth not only dominated in possession, they scored the only two non-empty net goals for the Blue Jackets.
First it was Kuraly on a 2-on-1 rush with Roslovic. Kuraly’s wrister beat Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom to break the ice and give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead.
Then in the third period, Danforth got into the act. Roslovic found Danforth at the back door with a great pass to make it 2-0. That goal proved to be huge as the Blue Jackets allowed a shorthanded goal to Elias Lindholm. The puck hit the linesman which allowed the Flames to break the puck up the ice to Lindholm who converted on a partial breakaway.
Zach Werenski hit the bullseye for the eventual 3-1 final score. But the fourth line completely had their way when they were on the ice. According to Nat Stat Trick, each member of the line finished the night at over 70% CF%. They were aggressive and fast all night. They also did their damage with among the least amount of ice time amongst the forwards.
Good teams need nights like this from their fourth line to provide balance. They won’t provide all of the scoring on most nights. However, this is something they can build off of from an impact standpoint. Perhaps the message sent to other players woke this group up.
Martin Shines
Coach Pascal Vincent said on Friday morning that Elvis Merzlikins would start the game. However it was Spencer Martin that led the Blue Jackets out Friday night. He turned in an outstanding performance.
Martin stopped 36 of 37 shots allowing just Lindholm’s shorthanded goal. He was in position all night while making key saves at key moments especially when the Flames had the momentum.
Martin wasn’t expected to start with Merzlikins coming back from a stomach bug. However Vincent told the media postgame that Merzlikins was starting to feel off during the morning skate. By early afternoon, it was clear Martin had to start. He was the game’s first star.
Merzlikins was dressed as the backup. Assuming no setbacks, it’s reasonable to expect him to play Saturday night in Minnesota.
Side Dishes
- The buzz after this game was the hit that Rasmus Andersson put on Patrik Laine in the dying seconds. Andersson got a major for elbowing. He could have been called for charging as well as the video appeared to show he left his feet. NHL Player Safety will take a long look at this one. Laine stayed down for a bit but was able to get up and skate off on his own power.
- Martin also appeared in some discomfort near the end after lunging at a puck. He was able to finish the game.
- The Blue Jackets hit several posts including a pair from Laine.
You May Also Like
- Jakub Voracek Announces Retirement From the NHL
- Blue Jackets Need Major Shake Up For Sake of Winning
- 17 Blue Jackets’ Thoughts From End of Season Media Day
- First NHL Shot, First NHL Goal for Blue Jackets’ Del Bel Belluz
- Projected Lineups for the Hurricanes vs Blue Jackets – 4/16/24
- How about the pair of Ivan Provorov and David Jiricek? They have played a couple games in a row and have been outstanding together. Provorov logged just under 25 minutes. He looks dynamic again.
- We’ll talk more about this on Monday in News and Rumors. In order to activate Werenski for Friday night’s game, the Blue Jackets waived Liam Foudy. Remember that message to the other players? This team is showing they are willing to go through with tough decisions when necessary.
- A win Saturday would put the Blue Jackets over .500, something they haven’t been very much in recent years.
