Some nights, there's not much else to say except... goodness, Bob.
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky faced 38 shots from the Calgary Flames tonight. He stopped 37 of them, and came within 21 seconds of a shutout.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Jackets | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Flames | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
It's not as if the Flames were firing blindly at the net either. There were opportunities from the slot, off rebounds, on the rush, basically all the regular looks you want as an offense. Nothing got by Bobrovsky.
Outside Seth Jones's five-block performance, the defense was spotty at times. But again, it didn't matter.
On the offensive side of things, Pierre-Luc Dubois was also on another level tonight.
#CBJ pic.twitter.com/dRiduAWRHs
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 30, 2018
Shown above was the final goal of the forward's first career hat trick, and it broke the franchise record for single-season goals by a rookie, formerly Rick Nash's 17.
The Blue Jackets got the offense started early (2:09 into the game) on just the third goal of the season from Markus Hannikainen.
Markus Hannikainen with a great goal but the seeing-eye pass from Matt Calvert deserves a mention as well. Fantastic start.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/g094NBmKoV
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 30, 2018
Artemi Panarin continued to do Artemi Panarin things, splitting a pair of defenders and hitting Dubois for a first period goal. It was 2-0 Blue Jackets after a period, despite an even 14-14 shot total.
9 to PLD. Artistry on ice.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/ZU2aO73W9i
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 30, 2018
The Flames dominated 13-5 in the second period shot chart, but it was a 1-0 Blue Jackets advantage where it mattered.
Another bright spot for the Blue Jackets tonight was the penalty kill, which finished a perfect 3-for-3 on the evening (although the lone Flames goal did come right after a kill).
Injury Update
Captain Nick Foligno is likely to miss a couple more weeks with a lower body injury. Josh Anderson continues to be out with a knee injury suffered on Feb. 27. Jack Johnson sat out this contest. Dean Kukan and Lukas Sedlak both missed tonight's game with upper body injuries.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets finish off their Canadian road trip with a game in Vancouver against the Canucks at 4:00 p.m. on Fox Sports Ohio.
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