There's a pattern developing here, and it's not encouraging.
The Blue Jackets are just not good at closing out games. Bad sign!
Another example came tonight at Barclays Center. A great first period and a strong finish to the second period put them in position for a much-needed win...but the wheels fell off in the third period. Despite a dominant 40 minutes, the final 20 put forth a completely different Blue Jackets team.
Staggering, really.
WHAT A START
The Blue Jackets came flying out of the gate. They looked like last year's Blue Jackets, which is a costume they've not worn often this season. For 20 minutes, they slipped it on and it looked pretty good. They set a new franchise record with 26 shots on goal in the opening period but managed only one goal on Jaroslav Halak – a disappointing result when they had sole ownership of the puck for long stretches.
SECONDARY SCORING?
Cam Atkinson is heating up, and maybe at just the right time (yes, they lost tonight, but they need this guy to pump some goals in). He's got points in each of the four games since he returned from a foot injury last week in Arizona, and scored his second goal in four games to tie the game 2-2 at a big moment in the second period.
Josh Anderson? Back on the scoresheet with his team-leading 16th goal, and the first power play goal of his career. Nick Foligno, too. These are guys the Blue Jackets need to have scoring goals and they did so tonight, despite the less-than-desirable result.
THE POWER PLAY WARMS
Give the Blue Jackets some credit here: they haven't hung their heads and hid from their power play issues. It's been better since the new year and they got another goal tonight after tying the game late in regulation on Tuesday; on this occasion, it was Anderson driving hard to the net and banging in a rebound.
The movement looks better, the shot selection is better, but if there's one thing to improve upon it would be getting Artemi Panarin – one of the best talents in this league – into more positions to shoot the puck and one-time it.
REDEMPTION, KIND OF, FOR FOLIGNO
After getting stapled to the bench for most of the second period last night (and part of the third), it was a frustrating and temper-testing night for the captain. He scored what should have been a game-changing goal in the second period but what ended up as just another note in the box score, thanks to a third-period collapse that's left everyone searching for answers.
THAT THIRD PERIOD…
Man, did the Blue Jackets ever shift shape in the final 20 minutes.
This was epically bizarre. Disturbing. Shades of the previous decade's Blue Jackets.
"How did that happen?" is the question most of us are asking ourselves, and probably some players and coaches, too. Seth Jones and Matt Calvert each made conspicuous plays on the third Islanders goal. Jack Johnson flew the zone shorthanded and it resulted in a 2-on-0 for the Islanders a few minutes later. Whatever could have gone wrong did go wrong for the Blue Jackets in the third period, when they had complete control of the game through two periods.
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