The Columbus Blue Jackets hold a two-game series lead for the first time in franchise history.
They have done this despite never playing a complete game against the Washington Capitals.
In both games, the Blue Jackets went down by two goals only to mount furious rallies. In both games, they allowed multiple power play goals because they couldn't stay out of the penalty box.
To the surprise of some of you, this is an outstanding development.
The Blue Jackets have not played perfect, in fact, they have been downright horrific in multiple aspects of their game. As a team in the regular season, they were in the bottom three in the NHL in penalties taken, and now they can't stop taking penalties.
The only way they can go from here is up. There isn't a snowball's chance that they will take seven penalties again (unless an unforeseen circumstance takes place). It's encouraging to see, as the Blue Jackets are an upper echelon team at even strength, and will be able to go to work on it once they return to a more disciplined style of play.
The Blue Jackets have shown their weakness to the world, let it remain exposed and still have been able to come out with victories. The Capitals are playing well, but they are being beaten at every turn. Even taking into account the penalty differential and you will see that Columbus had no right to be in this game from opportunities alone. Go back to the first game, and although they gave up two goals on the Josh Anderson major penalty, they held firm otherwise.
No matter where you look at the Blue Jackets, offensively, defensively, good omens surround them. They barely skate Sonny Milano, effectively giving them 11 forwards and they still win. Sergei Bobrovsky faces 50-plus shots and he still comes out with a win.
Improvements can be made in multiple aspects, and that shouldn't just scare the Capitals. That should scare the league.
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