You just watched the game. Odds are you thought a certain player had a great night, and you're wondering if the numbers back up what your eyes told you. Even if that's completely false, "Battery Mates" is here to help.
We'll pick our own three stars based on Game Score, a comprehensive individual performance metric developed in the hockey analytics community. For more on how Game Score works, read this.
These are 1st Ohio Battery's three stars from Saturday's 5-3 loss at KeyBank Center:
OLIVER BJORKSTRAND [GAME SCORE: 1.65]
The good: Bjorkstrand continues to supply offense and the Blue Jackets are becoming a harder team to defend because of it. He played on a line with Scott Hartnell and Sam Gagner tonight, a line that was strong at 5-on-5 and scored what should have been a back-breaking goal late in the first period. Gagner set up Bjorkstrand to make it a 3-0 game, Bjorkstrand’s fifth goal of the season and third in the last four games. John Tortorella has elevated Bjorkstrand to the No. 1 power play unit and it’s seemed to work out so far.
SAM GAGNER [GAME SCORE: 1.58]
Hand-in-hand with Bjorkstrand’s recent success has been that of Gagner, resurgent after a three-month scoring drought. Gagner is once again playing center after an extended stint on the wing, and he’s playing well enough that the Blue Jackets have three lines producing offense on a regular basis. Gagner had two assists tonight and while 5-on-5 was a bit of a struggle (sub-50% Corsi), his offensive contributions helped Columbus build a sizeable lead before…well…you know how it ended.
BRANDON SAAD [GAME SCORE: 1.27]
Saad had a quietly good night, registering an assist on Nick Foligno’s nifty toe-drag goal in the first period. Like his teammates, his play seemed to wane in the final two periods but he still made things happen at even strength; Saad was +4 in 5-on-5 Corsi (57.14%) and saw most of his minutes on the top line with Foligno and Alexander Wennberg.
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