Colorado made it interesting late, but in the end the Jackets picked up another big win.
Joonas Korpisalo made his second consecutive start and while he made some big saves he wasn’t as sharp as he was against Vegas. The fourth Avalanche goal he will want to have back, but the Jackets managed to bail him out in overtime to secure two points.
Here are five thoughts from the overtime victory:
Two goals in 11 seconds
The Jackets had the fast start against Vegas but were on the other end tonight. Colorado scored two goals in the first period 11 seconds apart. You couldn’t fault Korpisalo for either goal. He was bumped on the first goal (the Jackets challenged for goalie interference but the call stood), and the second one was a behind the net pass with traffic. This could have been a back breaker early, but the Jackets didn’t falter they kept with it, came back to tie the game and eventually take the lead.
Shot suppression
With Sergei Bobrovsky out, many Jackets players mentioned how they wanted to play well for Korpisalo. Against Vegas they did well clearing rebounds and not giving Vegas many chances. Against the Avalanche they took it one step further and simply didn’t let anything get to Korpisalo. Colorado finished with just 27 shots, five of which came on a third period power play. At one point through the second period the Jackets held Colorado without a shot for over 17 minutes. At 5 on 5 the Jackets held Colorado to 20 shots, this was a solid defensive effort all around.
Getting the veterans going
Prior to the game John Tortorella called out his second line of Alexander Wennberg, Boone Jenner and Thomas Vanek. Vanek was brought in to provide some offense and entering tonight he had yet to record a point as a Blue Jacket. Well this line heard Tortorella loud and clear and responded with a bang!
Each member of the line had a point, Wennberg had an assist, Jenner had a goal and an assist and Vanek not only scored his first as a Jacket, he scored his second as well.
Thomas The Point Engine ties the game up. He accepts a Jenner feed and has an easy goal in front.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/N481JxJoCw
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 9, 2018
If that wasn’t enough this line was monstrous from a possession standpoint. The trio were the three highest possession players on the team. Wennberg lead the way with an insane 94.74% Corsi, Vanek Jenner were not nearly as dominate but were still very good at 81.48% and 76% respectively.
Zach Attack
Artemi Panarin has been this team’s MVP, but few players are as valuable to the Columbus Blue Jackets as Zach Werenski. He plays so many minutes on the backend and when his offensive game is going he makes the Jackets so difficult to defend. He had a tough stretch there for a while through February but he's back. He has goals in back to back games and five points in his last five. It’s no surprise to see him producing and the Jackets winning. The Jackets are 9-3-1 when Werenski scores and 15-7-1 when he records a point.
Super Seth
Just in case you forgot, Werenski’s defence partner Seth Jones is pretty damn good in his own right. Playing against his childhood team Jones lead the Jackets in ice time, fired seven shots on goal and picked up two assists. Those two assists were his 42nd and 43rd points of the season setting a new career high.
Oh yeah he also scored the overtime game winner.
Dubois continues his point streak and Jones makes quick work. What a goal.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 9, 2018
Crucial two points.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/GGe8Z0aWfP
