This is a well-earned – and much-needed – break for the Columbus Blue Jackets. After playing four games in a six game span, and sustaining injuries to two star players, the Jackets need some time to catch their breath.
And what about you? Clicking on online #content when you should be spending time with your family? We feel you. Here are some lessons we learned as we hit this short break in the schedule.
Bob Has Moves
Sergei Bobrovsky was on one last night.
The Russian netminder made 30 saves, plus stopped all three Flyers shootout attempts, helping the Jackets eke out a win.
This comes on the back of a 39-save effort on the road against the Penguins – although the Jackets couldn’t pull out the shootout win. Still, though, he faced down the Penguins and turned in a great performance, as the only goals he let in either came on a Penguins power play or in the shootout.
It’s been a good couple of games for Bob, who started the week getting shelled in a 7-2 loss to Boston. That turnaround – and a perfect shootout performance – led to this legendary celly.
Protect Sergei Bobrovsky at all costs. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/eyn6FNtIVj
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 24, 2017
Looking for a hot take to champion as the calendar turns to 2018? Here’s one: Goalie celebrations are the best. Let’s get more of those.
All Aboard the PLD Hype Train
Don’t look now, but Jarmo Kekalainen may have outsmarted the HFboards armchair GM army.
Turns out, Pierre-Luc Dubois is good. Really good. As in, Centering-The-Top-Line-For-A-Playoff-Team-At-19-Years-Old good. And despite not registering a point last night, he still found a way to be the hero yet again, notching a game-deciding goal in the shootout.
He told reporters after the game that it was his first shootout goal since… well, ever.
Even without a point in last night’s game, PLD has been red hot, with 12 points in his last 14 games. Over that span, he’s averaging nearly 18 minutes of ice time per game, and has four power play points. That just so happens to coincide with the power play’s resurgence. Neat!
Those rookie growing pains that everyone expects? Optimistically, they may have largely happened already. After an opening-night goal, Dubois went through a stretch with just four points in 22 games, averaging 12:41 of ice time per game. Then, something clicked (playing with Artemi Panarin and Josh Anderson, perhaps?).
He’s not afraid of Sidney Crosby, either.
#CBJ Pierre-Luc Dubois after his first matchup with #Pens Sidney Crosby: pic.twitter.com/4Ab5OYKmmv
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) December 22, 2017
This Team Still Desperately Needs Another Center
Where would this team be without Pierre-Luc Dubois? You don’t want to know.
Alexander Wennberg’s play was just starting to turn the corner before he got hurt – and he may be out for a while. Brandon Dubinsky, who started slower than molasses, is on the shelf until February.
So, who’s in the middle now? Dubois (rookie), Sedlak (ideally, a fourth-line guy), Foligno (natural winger) and Jordan Schroeder (AHL guy).
The cries to trade for another center have been loud since the Jackets lost William Karlsson in the expansion draft, but now they’re going to be deafening.
Who should they target? One name that might make sense is Derick Brassard. That said, he’s expensive both in trade value and cap hit, and he may only produce like a third-liner.
The Metro is a thunderdome now. There’s a roster freeze going on right now, and the Jackets are still in the thick of it, but if things fall off, the Jackets will be dealing from a place of desperation.
Actually, they may be doing that already.
Markus Nutivaara May Be The League’s Best-Kept Secret
The Jackets have no reliable center depth. The one place they have an abundance of talent and experience? Defense, and particularly the left-handed variety.
Their two top players there are both dealing with injuries of their own, though. Ryan Murray has (sadly) been sidelined by yet another injury, and Zach Werenski could be out a bit longer.
From the outside, the Jackets had three solid candidates to fill in temporarily. There’s Jack Johnson – an established middle-pairing guy who is capable of playing big minutes – who has a high draft pedigree and a ton of experience. Gabriel Carlsson was a first-rounder in the same cycle as Werenski, and brings a huge frame, high IQ and crisp skating to the position. Scott Harrington is another veteran with good draft pedigree, who’s been waiting for his chance to shine for a few years – and has looked serviceable so far this year.
But the Jackets instead turned to Markus Nutivaara, who was a seventh-round pick in his age-20 year from Finland. After an up-and-down rookie year, Nutivaara has settled into that role – and should be poised to take on a bigger one once the rest of that unit gets healthy.
Turns out, he may be a legit top four defenseman already. That’s one hell of a find by Kekalainen.
