The Blue Jackets came out ready to play last night.
Especially Gustav Nyquist.
Just 14 seconds into the game, Seth Jones fired towards the net and Nyquist sent an incredibly difficult redirection top shelf.
GOOSE IS LOOSE.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/eQmSrQiATo
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 8, 2019
It was a huge goal that the Blue Jackets in the driver's seat against a very solid Arizona team.
After the Coyotes made it 2-1, the Blue Jackets scored a power-play goal (!!) to tie it up. Nyquist took the secondary assist on this one, finding Cam Atkinson in space, who then found Emil Bemstrom in even more space.
OK BEMMER!#CBJ pic.twitter.com/9QhCmPqLGq
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 8, 2019
That kind of puck movement is what the Blue Jackets' power play has desperately needed more of. Bemstrom cleaned up the rebound from his initial shot to nab his first NHL goal.
In the third period, the Blue Jackets needed to take a lead. Arizona pushed hard and looked close to scoring the go-ahead goal several times, but Joonas Korpisalo stood tall and made some incredible saves.
Then, with about 10 minutes left, in his defensive zone, Nyquist found a streaking Pierre-Luc Dubois with a pass on the money. Dubois carried the puck up the ice and threw a pass in the direction of Oliver Bjorkstrand. The rolling, bouncing puck beat a Coyotes defenseman and Bjorkstrand made no mistake with the finish.
It was an incredibly important win, and Nyquist certainly left his mark on the game. Now with 10 points in 16 games, the Swedish forward has been elevating his play lately. He trails just Dubois by one point for the title of leading scorer.
As the season continues, look for Nyquist to create more and more offense. It's something that the Blue Jackets have been lacking recently, and as Nyquist becomes more comfortable in John Tortorella's system, he'll only get better.
