Three Things: Tale Of The Series, Lessons Learned, Limiting Mistakes

By Derek Harper on March 29, 2022 at 10:03 pm
Mar 29, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand (28) celebrates a goal against the New York Islanders during the third period at Nationwide Arena.
Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports
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Tale of the night.

The Columbus Blue Jackets entered Tuesday night's contest against the New York Islanders without head coach Brad Larsen and assistant coach Steve McCarthy as both entered COVID protocol early Tuesday.

This meant that associate coach Pascal Vincent would take the helm in the interim. 

Tale of the series

Tuesday night's matchup at Nationwide Arena was the third of four meetings between the Islanders and Blue Jackets. The first matchup on Oct. 21st in Columbus was won by the Blue Jackets 3-2 in overtime.

Since then, it's been all Islanders with one more matchup scheduled for Thursday night at UBS Arena in New York.

Originally scheduled for Jan. 18th, Thursday's game was rescheduled due to the Islanders needing to shuffle games as a result of COVID wreaking havoc earlier in the season.

On March 10th, the Islanders rolled over Columbus 6-0 in New York. 

Then on Tuesday night, Columbus dropped their second straight to the Islanders in a 4-3 heartbreaker. 

Just like the expansion Seattle Kraken, the Islanders started the season on an extended road trip as they awaited the grand opening of their new arena. As a result, the Islanders played 13 straight games on the road to start the season.

This took a toll, as the Islanders went 5-10-5 in their first 20 games. They didn't claim their first win on home ice until Dec. 11th versus the New Jersey Devils.

The tough start aside, the tide turned shortly after that with the Islanders going 20-15-3 since Dec. 30th for a .566 winning percentage. 

The Story

The key for Columbus in their 3-2 overtime victory on Oct. 21st against the Islanders was playing an evenly matched game.

In that matchup, it was a scoreless first period before Columbus held a 2-1 lead through 40 minutes. While the Islanders tied it in the third, the Jackets were able to come through in overtime thanks to Patrik Laine's game-winner, and second goal of the season.

A key for Larsen's bunch that night was controlling the pace of play.

This season, the Blue Jackets have been known for comebacks and that night was no different.

They got behind with New York taking the 1-0 lead in the second, but the Blue Jackets netted two of their own before the end of the period.

In turn, Columbus didn't have to mount a comeback late as they got to focus on keeping a lead rather than playing catch-up.

When the Blue Jackets keep pace, they don't have to climb an uphill battle all game. As a result, they can focus on other areas of their game like winning face-offs. Though Tuesday's game was a climb, they won 57% of their face-offs compared to the Islanders at 43%. 

A young unpredictable Blue Jackets team

Going into Tuesday night's game, 21 of the Blue Jackets' 32 victories have been in come-from-behind fashion.

In this game, Columbus didn't have to start out trailing as Vladislav Gavrikov got them on the board for the first of two for him on the night.

However, from there, it was four straight goals from the visitors as they jumped out to a 4-1 lead.

In their typical comeback fashion, the Jackets made things interesting, netting two straight tallies, including one from Oliver Bjorkstrand to pull the score within one. Bjorkstrand's 24 goals on the season set a new career-high for him.

Another aspect that helps the club is when their home crowd is buzzing.

As Tuesday's third period played out, the crowd was loud and animated, helping manifest another comeback with their energy. 

Columbus had 45 shots on goal to the Islanders' 29, one shy of their season-high 46.

So, what's the takeaway?

Home crowd and staying on pace with the Islanders.

Give teams a lead and they're going to come away with victories more often than not. It's great that the Blue Jackets have proven resilient but you can't rely on playing catch-up every night.

Tonight's win by the Islanders gives them the 2-1 lead in the season series, putting them just two points behind the Blue Jackets in the standings.

As the Blue Jackets and Islanders reconvene for their final regular-season matchup on Thursday night at UBS Arena, the key for the Jackets is simple: Start fast and score often.

A huge key to their success is winning face-offs, limiting defensive miscues, and not having to rely on playing from behind so often.

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