That first period feels like...a week ago.
What a bizarre loss, really. The Blue Jackets were in total control and then they weren't.
This one will sting, but they're right back at it in Anaheim tonight (Friday).
A STRONG START
The Blue Jackets' first period was some of the best hockey we've seen them play all season. It seemed as though every shift resulted in a scoring chance. John Tortorella was using all four lines with no hesitation, everyone was involved, and the pace was high. Cam Atkinson and Seth Jones scored goals in the first period and the Blue Jackets deserved to be leading 2-0 after 20 minutes.
What happened after that, though...
THE MIDDLE...YIKES
Maybe knowing and acknowledging that the Kings were going to push back sets you up for the opposite? The Blue Jackets' skating and speed-based game from the first period went up in smoke once the second period began, and they fed right into the Kings' plan of attack by turning pucks over and making poor decisions in the neutral zone. It just wasn't clean and the Jackets paid the price. Los Angeles scored three straight goals in a disastrous second period to seize momentum and head into the third period with a one-goal lead.
STARS STAY HOT
Any hockey coach's favorite adage – especially when their team is struggling – is that "the best players need to be the best players." That's a kind way of hinting to the star players to pick up their game. Artemi Panarin and Cam Atkinson, playing on the same line with Pierre-Luc Dubois in the middle, have elevated their play as the Blue Jackets push for a playoff spot down the stretch.
They're going to need everything they can get from these two.
Panarin set up Atkinson for a brilliant goal in the first period after Atkinson started the play; he picked off an exit pass, won a puck battle and fired on Jonathan Quick, who made the initial save. Panarin recovered the rebound at the side of the net and found Atkinson in front, who popped it past Quick for a 1-0 lead. Panarin has points in six straight games now, while Atkinson has scored a goal in three consecutive games himself.
HISTORY FOR JONES
The goal Seth Jones scored in the first period...hoo boy. Something special.
With that goal, he made a bit of Blue Jackets franchise history: Jones is the first Columbus defenseman to have a pair of 10-plus goal seasons. He has 10 (and counting) this season, and scored 12 goals last year. Jones has been on the NHL All-Star team in both of those seasons, as well.
GOALIES, ETC.
Joonas Korpisalo was going to start one of these back-to-back games in southern California. Regardless of when it came, he needed to be better than he was tonight. The Kings' first goal was awful, so bad that even Nate Thompson was surprised he scored. And he never scores, so it made some sense.
Second goal? Good deflection. Third goal? Power play goal through a screen. Nothing he can do about those, but the backbreaking fourth goal (Jeff Carter, shorthanded) is a save that must be made.
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