Blue Jackets Show Growth Despite Messy Loss to Predators

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In year’s past, the Columbus Blue Jackets would have lost games like they did on Saturday night in Nashville in regulation. But on this occasion, they were able to get a point despite playing an unclean game on multiple levels.

Jonathan Marchessault scored in overtime to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win. In what proved to be a sign of how the night for the Blue Jackets went, Damon Severson lost his footing which allowed the winning goal to be scored.

The night was full of different kinds of mistakes for the Blue Jackets. Puck management was an issue all night. Big turnovers stopped any kind of momentum they were hoping to gain later in the game.

Ultimately, those mistakes caught up to them. Even despite all of that, the Blue Jackets still made some strides that should help them later on.

Unclean Game

After a first period in which the Blue Jackets held an edge in shots in goal, they were able to build a 2-0 lead thanks to goals by Kirill Marchenko and Zach Aston-Reese. Marchenko’s goal gave him nine points on the season in seven games which leads the team.

Both goals were setup on beautiful passing plays. Marchenko’s was setup by Adam Fantilli while Aston Reese’s was setup by Mathieu Olivier.

It was at 2-0 when things started to get messy for the Blue Jackets. Puck management became a major issue for them throughout the rest of the game.

“We were impressed there,” coach Dean Evason said when discussing being able to get back into the game later. “But we were unimpressed with how we played when we had a two-goal lead. The game should have been cleaner than it was. It wasn’t. It wasn’t clean.”

Columbus Blue Jackets Starting Lineup
The Blue Jackets did some good things, but played an unclean game on Saturday night. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

The Blue Jackets still did some good things on the night even despite all the mistakes.

“For the most part, (we) did the right things,” Evason said. “But when you turn the puck over at the blue line, you give a team that has the talent level of theirs to have momentum freely and not have to come 200 feet. We’re turning over at our blue line in our D-zone. They’re getting second or third opportunities or we’re going on the offensive and we’re turning over. Now they only got to go three quarters of the ice instead of the entire ice to make a play on us.”

“So it’s not just playing brain dead hockey, dumping it in every time making them come through our feet. It’s just simply not turning it over in those crucial areas of the ice where you give any team in the National Hockey League and yet it will come back at you. But for the most part to be honest with you, we liked our game play.”

Zach Werenski scored in the third period to give the Blue Jackets the lead back temporarily. Although he liked the effort, he said he didn’t like the start. He also alluded to the puck management.

“I thought we played hard all night,” Werenski said. I thought our first period wasn’t great in terms of turnovers but we played hard. Second period, everything goes up. Had a good second. Third period is kind of back and forth. So it could have been anyone’s game tonight.”

Strides Still Made

The Blue Jackets were up 2-0 in the second, 2-1 going to the third and held a 3-2 lead in the third. They weren’t able to hold onto those leads. Puck management and turnovers allowed the Predators to climb back into the game and they took full advantage.

Where the Blue Jackets took an important step however was after the Predators made it 3-3. They were starting to win the possession battle. They pushed the Blue Jackets back but couldn’t get a fourth goal in regulation.

The way the Blue Jackets locked it back down after 3-3 is a sign of growth. They could have easily given in and allowed the Predators to score two or three more times. Instead, they went back to their structure and didn’t allow anything. Not only didn’t they allow anything, they made a push on their own.

They had multiple chances to take the lead. Predators goalie Scott Wedgewood made some key saves down the stretch to keep it 3-3.

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On a night in which the Blue Jackets probably didn’t deserve to win, they scratched out a point and could have had two. It’s a sign of belief by the players in what the coaching staff is teaching them.

The offense is still clicking seven games into the season. With 27 goals in those seven games, the Blue Jackets are showing they can fill the net. On Saturday night, they got a goal from a defenseman (Werenski), a bottom-six forward (Aston-Reese) and a top-six forward (Marchenko.) They’re showing they can get scoring from all lines.

“We have no issues how we’re playing the game up the ice and how we’re generating offensive opportunities, how we’re generating chances and how we’re scoring goals,” Evason said. “But we hope we’ll get more if we do the right things in those crucial areas that we talked about. But honestly in our defensive end, we’ve been solid. We’ve been doing the right things, taking the right approach in that area to keep the puck out of our net. But we just need to clean a little bit up.”

Side Dishes

  • Fantilli had that great assist to Marchenko and also led the Blue Jackets with six shots on goal. His breakthrough is a matter of when and not if.
  • Saturday night was a very physical game. The Blue Jackets knew this was a calling card of the Predators. They matched them in that regard. Aston-Reese and Jordan Harris had some thunderous hits. Harris’ hit on Colton Sissons created a retaliation penalty on Sissons.
  • Coming into Saturday night’s game, the Blue Jackets according to Nat Stat Trick had an adjusted CF% of 51.92%. If you needed a sign that things were starting to turn, this shows that. This means they’re holding an advantage on their opponents in shot attempts when adjusted for score and venue at 5-on-5. The foundation continues to be laid.
  • The Blue Jackets have Sunday off and will hold a morning skate Monday in advance of their game against the Edmonton Oilers.