The Columbus Blue Jackets are winners of seven straight, thanks to key goaltending and timely goal scoring. They took down the Ottawa Senators, 2-1, and have now won seven straight games.
Here are five thoughts about the team's decisive win.
Boooooone
Look, we get it. Boone Jenner hasn't been great this year. But the past few weeks, he's more than pulled his weight. He scored a huge goal in tonight's game to pull the Jackets even at 1-1. He has points in five straight games, which is huge, considering he has just 26 points in 65 games this season. He's getting hot at the right time, and that's a big win for this team.
Not much balance and all hustle. Boone Jenner ain't losing this battle. #OTTvsCBJ pic.twitter.com/WI6ntZefeU
— NHL (@NHL) March 18, 2018
Nutivaara Clutch
With Seth Jones missing from the lineup, there was some question as to who would replace him on the point on the power play, and Markus Nutivaara made the coaches look smart. Nutivaara wired home the game-winning goal on the power play at the 16:01 mark of the second period. Only Ryan Murray played less than Nutivaara's 17:05 (16:58), but the young Finn showed well in Jones's place, posting a 73.33% CF% (22/8).
Top Line Domination
It's too bad that the first line of Artemi Panarin, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Cam Atkinson was kept off the scoresheet, because they dominated the puck against the Sens. All three posted over 75% CF% and held the majority of scoring chances against the lowly Senators. By ever metric - shots for, scoring chances for, high-danger scoring chances for - the trio led all players in the game. Sometimes the scoreboard doesn't reflect the scoring chances, but their performance is noteworthy if you're just reading the box score.
Bobrovsky
Sergei Bobrovsky is simply a pleasure to watch. He was his usual-self, stopping 22 of 23 for a .958% Sv%, which is basically par for the course for the Russian star goaltender. He made clutch saves, gave up minimal rebounds, and didn't miss a beat after receiving some extra contact from Max McCormick.
Playoffs?
It's a fluid situation, to be sure, but the Blue Jackets sure have put themselves in a nice spot going forward. Games in hand are only valuable when you win them, as the Florida Panthers learned today, and with just 10 games to play, the Blue Jackets have put themselves in an enviable situation. It's no time to take the foot of the gas pedal, but after going 8-2-0 in their past 10 games, they've certainly put the pressure on other teams - both in front and behind them - in the standings.
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