What...in the world?
This was a game the Blue Jackets needed to have. They should have had it, too, as their goaltender gave them every opportunity.
But somehow they managed to let it slip away.
They were poor at the start and just good enough the rest of the way to scrape a point out of it. Their intensity was hit-and-miss, they weren't crisp and didn't come close to developing offense the way they had over the last three games.
Here's an analysis of a bizarre game at Nationwide Arena:
NOT READY
How could they not be ready? Weird, right?
The Blue Jackets were on their heels early and the Flyers got behind their defense on a few occasions that could have been problematic – but Sergei Bobrovsky was there. It could have been a 1-0 or 2-0 game for Philadelphia early (remember how that went on Wednesday?), but Bobrovsky answered the bell.
John Tortorella was red-hot after the game in discussing his team's start. He said he had "no idea" why they came out of the gate flat and waded into the game. It's concerning, because as he mentioned, there are 20-plus games that'll be just like this the rest of the way.
MAESTRO'S MAGIC
Oliver Bjorkstrand is coming along.
On a night when so many of his teammates tried "to pass the puck in the net," to borrow Tortorella's phrasing, Bjorkstrand went against the grain and tried something crazy: he shot the puck, and he shot it a lot. He finished the game with eight on goal and was a force 5-on-5, part of a line with Nick Foligno and Alexander Wennberg that looked the part of a No. 1 unit tonight.
WHAT ABOUT BOB?
The Blue Jackets' only chance tonight. Man, was he good.
Turnover after turnover seemed to fuel the Flyers' dangerous counter-attack and Bobrovsky was called upon far more than he needed to be. Thankfully for the Blue Jackets, he was ready. Deflections, bang-bang plays in front and grade-A chances off the rush were all part of the Flyers' approach in this game, but Bobrovsky was his usual dominant self against his old team. He's now 9-2-1 lifetime against the Flyers.
BAKERY CLOSED
Weird night for Artemi Panarin and the top line, which underwent some juggling during the course of the game. Cam Atkinson was moved off the right wing and replaced by Josh Anderson, presumably to get more north-south in their game and hunt down pucks they weren't retrieving in the first two periods.
Panarin made an uncharacteristically poor decision in overtime, trying to force a play where one wasn't, leading to the game-winning goal by Sean Couturier.
BUCKLE UP, BABY
Up next? Oh, no big deal. The Penguins are coming to town for the first time this season, and the Blue Jackets remain one point out of a wild card spot with a game in hand on the New York Islanders.
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