There's a pattern developing here, and it's not encouraging.
I stole that lede from the prior Blue Jackets game – a loss to the New York Islanders. This club cannot finish games, and it happened again in a 3-2 home loss to the Metropolitan Division leading Washington Capitals. Here are five thoughts from a disappointing loss at Nationwide Arena.
THIS ONE STINGS
The Blue Jackets outplayed the Washington Capitals, outshooting them 38-25 and out-chancing them for large stretches throughout the game.
So naturally, they failed to capitalize in a game where they had the Capitals pinned. It's especially frustrating given their recent loss in Brooklyn; they've fallen to 0-3-1 in the four games since the All-Star break despite playing well enough to have several wins.
UNHERALDED DEFENSEMEN STEP UP
Brandon Dubinsky deserves a lot of credit for scoring the game-tying goal at the 13:55 mark of the third period, but that goal was made by Markus Nutivaara. He made a beautiful defensive stop on Devante Smith-Pelly, getting his stick on Smith-Pelly's blade right as shot it, effectively neutralizing the play.
Then, he had the presence of mind to jump up into the offense. As Matt Calvert made a nice read to go east-west once he crossed the offensive blue line, he found a trailing Nutivaara. The Capitals defense got lost in coverage, and Nutivaara found a cutting Dubinsky, who did the rest. Beautiful play.
Of note: he casually posted a 81.48% CF% (+22/-5) in 15:15 of 5v5 hockey.
All tied up.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) February 7, 2018
Huge, clutch goal from Dubi. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/yitBnckGIg
Also worth mentioning the stellar play of Dean Kukan, who has looked more and more comfortable at the NHL level. Against the Capitals, he was terrific, and nearly potted his first NHL goal. The numbers back it up, too: he was a game-best 84.21% CF% (+16/-3).
OLIVER BJORKSTRAND NEEDS MORE ICE
I will keep banging the drum until everybody, John Tortorella especially, agrees with me. Oliver Bjorkstrand needs to play more. He's one of the Blue Jackets' leading scorers despite playing with weak line mates and in a limited role. Good thing this team scores a lot of goals, right?
He played just 13:20 in the loss, and still managed six shots on goal.
I will not be silenced.
LEARNING TO CLOSE
An old coach of mine used to say that good teams find ways to win games, and bad teams find ways to lose.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the Blue Jackets have made a habit of finding ways to lose games. It partly comes down to team maturity, but as Tortorella said, you can only call a team 'young' for so long. We're 50+ games into the season, and it's time to grow up.
Scrambling in the final minute of a tied third period against the Capitals' top line of Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and TJ Oshie? Yikes. If they could have simply gotten a point out of this game (or the game in New York), they'd at least have some momentum. But, alas...
SILVER LINING
It won't matter if the club keeps losing, but the Blue Jackets will wake up tomorrow miraculously still in a playoff position.
The Metropolitan Division was dominant just a few weeks ago, but many teams have started to cool off. This is obviously good news for the Jackets, as the games left on the schedule continue to dwindle. As dire as the recent skid is, staying within reach, let alone in a Wild Card spot, is promising.
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