Let’s friggen go!
The Blue Jackets fell behind early, but as we have seen time and time again this season, they stayed with it and made a huge comeback. They faced serious adversity in the first period, allowing two goals on a major penalty to Josh Anderson. They then got clutch power play scoring of their own and picked up a massive road victory in Game 1.
Here are five thoughts from the win:
Penalties
The Blue Jackets were the second-least penalized team this season. They took an uncharacteristic three penalties and 19 PIMS in the first period as the officials made it very clear they were calling this game tight. The goalie interference call on Nick Foligno was weak (he looked to be pushed into the net). The call on Ian Cole was a penalty, fine. The boarding major on Josh Anderson was outrageous in my opinion. It was absolutely a penalty, but a major? I didn’t think so. Michal Kempny turns at the last second and Anderson is finishing his check. Knowing the game was being called tight, it was a mistake by Anderson to hit him like that. Of course the Capitals capitalized, scoring twice.
Jenner-ate some offense
The Jackets, down 2-0, needed a spark and they found one from their second line. This line was incredible down the stretch and kept it going in Game 1. Jenner made a really nice play to gain the blue line, and rather than take the puck to the net like he's known to do, he stopped up and made a great net-mouth dish to Alexander Wennberg for the goal. Jenner tends to get overrated in Columbus, but he’s not a bad offensive player. When you play him with other offensively-minded players, he can be really good and he’s shown that ability while playing with Wennberg and Thomas Vanek.
Playoff Bob
Sergei Bobrovsky was a big question mark for the Blue Jackets entering this series. One game is not going to erase all his playoff history, but it did answer some questions. Bob played really well. The Jackets did not have a good start, even without the penalty trouble. He was solid, making some big saves and keeping the Jackets in the game – especially in the second and third period. Bobrovsky let in two goals on the major, but other than that, was the usual regular season version of himself. His numbers overall don’t look great (a .900 save percentage) but this has to be a big confidence builder for Bob.
Seth Jones is a Columbus Blue Jacket
What a game for Seth Jones. He led all players in ice time playing a ridiculous 30:59 and was being sent over the boards every other shift. He played some big minutes against the Capitals best players, seeing 9:07 at 5-on-5 against Nicklas Backstrom and he held Backstrom to a 46.43% Corsi. Jones was a workhorse putting up four shots, three hits, and three blocked shots. Most importantly, though, his power play goal in the third period was huge.
An absolute snipe to tie the game for the Jackets late in third. With their backs against the wall, Jones elevated his game to an even higher level.
Seth Jones picked a great time to score his first Stanley Cup Playoffs goal. We have ourselves a game, folks. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/iPbmkdMT60
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) April 13, 2018
Artemi. Panarin.
I don’t know what can be said about Panarin. Wherever this narrative came from that he struggles in the playoffs, it is simply not true. Outside of Jones, Panarin was by far the best skater on the ice for the Jackets. He played 17:01 at 5-on-5 and had an incredible 63.41% Corsi, the second highest on the Jackets. He played a ton of minutes against Dmitry Orlov and Matt Niskanen and he ate them right up. He could not be stopped. He assisted on both third period goals and in overtime scored one of the biggest goals in franchise history.
PANARIN TRYING TO CUT IN... SCORES!!! GAME WINNER IN OVERTIME!!! WHAT A GOAL!!! #CBJ pic.twitter.com/XCYTw75Dhe
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) April 13, 2018
