The Columbus Blue Jackets attempted a ridiculous 80 shot attempts but let the New York Islanders walk out of Nationwide Arena with a 3-2 overtime win, the Blue Jackets second consecutive overtime loss on back-to-back nights.
The Blue Jackets goals were scored by Seth Jones and Boone Jenner, both of whom tallied their first goal of the season. Brock Nelson scored his fourth goal of the season for the OT winner.
Here are three things from tonight's win.
Boone Jenner's 200th Point
Jenner's first goal of the campaign came late in the second period after one of the more dominating periods the Blue Jackets have played this season. The goal was vintage Jenner: a rebound in the low-slot after Thomas Greiss was unable to handle a Dean Kukan shot.
GREASY BOONE JENNER GOALS ALL DAY.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/XuU62qIcGa
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) October 20, 2019
The goal knotted the game at two apiece and gave the Blue Jackets a good bit of momentum heading into the third period. But the home team let the Islanders off the hook and were unable to find the crucial third goal - more on that in a second - against Greiss.
Wanted: Third Goals
The Blue Jackets broadcast put up a graphic that says it all: the club is 3-0-0 in games this year in which they've scored three or more goals. Read otherwise: they're 0-3-2 in games in which they have failed to score that all-important third goal. It's a small sample size, sure, but this isn't a new trend. A year ago, the Blue Jackets were 40-4-1 when they managed to score three or more goals. That means that players like Pierre-Luc Dubois, Cam Atkinson, Gus Nyquist, Oliver Bjorsktrand, Alexandre Texier, and others will need to find ways to find the scoresheet consistently.
Werenski Miscues Prove Costly
Zach Werenski, who played more (24:40) than any player other than Seth Jones (25:21), was on the ice for 11 scoring chances for and just five against (all situations, data courtesy of naturalstattrick). But even with that knowledge, it's hard to ignore the mishaps that Werenski had, including him whiffing on the puck for the Islanders' first goal of the game, a five-hole snipe from Mat Barzal that, to be fair, Joonas Korpisalo should probably stop.
All Mat Barzal (@Barzal_97) here. pic.twitter.com/NzheHmHWc3
— NHL (@NHL) October 19, 2019
In overtime, Werenski was caught out of position (though not nearly as much as Cam Atkinson, who was cheating for offense on 3v3) on Nelson's game-winner.
It's Brock Nelson with the @EASPORTSNHL OT-winning goal for the @NYIslanders. pic.twitter.com/CFMKBch2S0
— NHL (@NHL) October 20, 2019
Admittedly, it feels nitpicky to hold Werenski accountable for both of these plays, as a a) would-be routine save and b) by-definition offensive-minded situation (3v3) were the root causes for both of these goals. But in a leauge with such a small margin for error, Werenski is the common-thread.
