That was an unexpected but must-needed win.
The Jackets opened this hugely important homestand welcoming home former Blue Jacket, William Karlsson, and the Vegas Golden Knights. This was one of those games you don’t expect to win but when you get an early lead like Columbus did you have to find a way to finish it and the Jackets did.
Here are five thoughts from the win:
16 seconds
Talk about a fast start to this game. It took the Jackets all of 16 seconds to open the scoring. They won the opening faceoff got the puck into the zone, moved it around, Pierre-Luc Dubois got a great chance, and Artemi Panarin banged home the rebound for his 21st goal of the season. That was the fastest goal to start a game by the Blue Jackets this season.
.@9Artemi with his 21st of the season 16 seconds in gets #CBJ on the board. Fastest Jackets goal to start a game this season, besting the goal by Anderson 30 seconds in to Dec. 9 vs. Arizona contest.
— CBJ Public Relations (@BlueJacketsPR) March 7, 2018
Offside challenges
Offside reviews haven’t hurt the Jackets much this season, but it doesn’t make it any better when they don’t go your way. The Jackets thought they had a two-goal lead on a rip by Dubois, but after review, the play overturned for offside. I mentioned this on Twitter but a play like that regardless of what team it is against or the outcome is why this rule is dumb. The Jackets has the puck in the zone for 33 seconds! The initial zone entry had absolutely nothing to do with the play. A time limit of sorts needs to be implemented. After say 15-20 seconds of zone time you shouldn’t be able to challenge. The rule is in place to avoid Matt Duchene type situations, not long extended shifts like this.
Korpisolid
The Jackets were already the underdog going into this game, and their chances took an even bigger hit when it was announced that Sergei Bobrovsky would not be starting due to an illness. Joonas Korpisalo was thrust into duty, and he was rock solid. When you play your back-up, you want to put forth a solid effort in front of him, particularly when playing a team as strong as Vegas. Columbus really didn’t do that, but it didn’t matter. Korpisalo was very Bobrovsky-esque allowing just one goal on 37 shots, a .974 save percentage. He was the star of the show tonight.
Keeping Karlsson in Check
I don’t think there is a bigger surprise on the Vegas roster than William Karlsson. His 35 goals lead the team and is tied for fourth in the NHL. In the first meeting between these two teams, Karlsson scored twice and was a big part in Vegas’ victory. The Jackets made sure he would not beat them again. They held Karlsson to just a single shot, and he was on the ice for a goal against. He did have a 62.96% Corsi at 5 on 5, but not many of his attempts were dangerous.
Friendly Fire?
Ian Cole loves facing his former teammate Marc-Andre Fleury. Entering the game two of Cole’s three goals have come against his good buddy, and he added another one tonight, giving him four goals on the three season and three on Fleury. He doesn’t always score, but when he does, he makes sure it’s against Fleury.
This Clean Cole Goal now gives him points in two straight games.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/1Wanf1GLl9
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 7, 2018
It wasn’t the prettiest goal, and maybe one Fleury wants to have back, but you won’t hear Cole or the Blue Jackets complaining.
