This one hurt.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| FLYERS | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
The Blue Jackets took a 1-0 second period lead on the road, but were outplayed in the final period and lost 2-1 Thursday night.
Offensively the Blue Jackets would have been jealous of a snail’s pace at the start, firing just one shot on net in the first 17 and a half minutes. It was so bad the Blue Jackets were even outshot 1-0 while on the power play.
In general the opening twenty was tight-checking, with the score standing 0-0 with a 7-2 shot advantage to the Philadelphia Flyers at the first intermission.
Two positives from the first period: the Jackets continued their penalty kill success from last game, successfully killing off two man disadvantages, and Sergei Bobrovsky looked incredible with three or four highlight reel saves.
The second period started slow, although the shot advantage significantly turned toward the Blue Jackets. Then finally, after a third successful Blue Jackets penalty kill in as many attempts, Artemi Panarin came straight out of the box, picked off a pass, and skated the length of the ice before burying a shot in the top left corner to put the Blue Jackets up 1-0.
As a whole, the Blue Jackets were the dominant team in the second and if not for a few really nice saves by Flyers goaltender Petr Mrazek, who made his debut with the team after being acquired from the Red Wings earlier in the week, the lead would have grown beyond a goal. The shots tallied 14-6 in favor of the Blue Jackets.
It was all downhill from there.
Just 2:34 into the period, Flyers captain Claude Giroux got the puck right in front of the net and punched one past Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Blue Jackets failed to extend their penalty kill success to 5-for-5 a handful of minutes later, as the Flyers' dangerous power play capitalized to take a 2-1 lead.
After that, Sergei Bobrovsky kept the Blue Jackets in striking distance. In total they were outshot 7-3 in the final period.
Nathan Gerbe played in his first game since April 2016, after being recalled from the Cleveland Monsters. The forward spent 7:18 on the ice with three hits.
Injury Update
Captain Nick Foligno is still out another 1-2 weeks with a lower body injury. Dean Kukan still has roughly four weeks remaining on the injured reserve with an upper body injury. Markus Nutivaara was placed on the injured reserve retroactive to Feb. 17 recently with an upper body injury, and there is no timetable for his return.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets return to Nationwide Arena to play the Chicago Blackhawks at 7 p.m. Saturday on Fox Sports Ohio.
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