Blue Jackets 5, Coyotes 3
(box) – Highlights
CBJ: 31-23-6, 68 pts
We finally found a moment that looked too big for rookie winger Matt Calvert.
I wrote in my game preview that: “Calvert has been particularly impressive, as the rookie never looks overwhelmed. He skates hard, and wins battles for the puck despite his diminutive size. And, as Rick Nash pointed out Tuesday night after the game, his hands around the net have been as good as advertised.”
Three goals later, hats rained down from the Nationwide Arena rafters, and the look on Calvert’s face was priceless; he looked genuinely overwhelmed, alternating between a huge grin and an emotional expression. The only thing is: that’s one kind of overwhelmed you can live with. Calvert and the Jackets scored five unanswered goals after falling behind to keep their hot streak alive, and inched one step closer to the goal of the playoffs.
The first period, however, started out with a thud, as the Coyotes came out with intensity and the Jackets just didn’t appear ready. The Coyotes are a tough, physical team, and they made the Jackets pay for an early turnover, as defenseman David Schlemko got a wide open look just 1:34 into the game and buried it to give the ‘Yotes a quick 1-0 lead.
As the crowd waited for the Jackets to respond, it looked more and more through the first like the Coyotes were just going to overmatch the Jackets. RJ Umberger got an early chance to tie it as he was hooked down on a break-away and earned a penalty shot. But, Phoenix goalie Ilya Bryzgalov was able to close up the 5-hole and deny Umberger. To make matters worse, the Coyotes came right back and scored to go up 2-0. The Jackets couldn’t clear the puck, and were outworked in their zone, and Radim Vrbata made the most of it, stuffing the puck under Steve Mason at the 7:57 mark.
Things looked bleak. And then the Jackets got a lift from what, earlier in the season, would have been a most unlikely place: the Power Play.
The Jackets started to get their forecheck working again, and starting working through the clutching and grabbing Coyotes. And they were rewarded with penalties. On the night, the Jackets would be on the Power Play nine (9!) times. For a unit struggling below 10% for a big portion of the year, this might not have seemed like a good thing for the Jackets. But, for a unit humming along above 21% over this last stretch of solid play, it was the opening they needed to take the game back from Phoenix.
Coyotes’ defenseman Nolan Yonkman was sent off for slashing Andrew Murray at the 13:54, and the Jackets’ PP would start there in turning this one around. With some hard work from the forward unit of Matt Calvert, Derek MacKenzie, and RJ Umberger, the Jackets got on the board at 14:50 as MacKenzie got the puck deep and fed a nifty pass through the crease area to Umberger, who put it past Bryzgalov with ease.
The Coyotes would then take back-to-back penalties to give the Jackets more than a minute of 5-on-3 Power Play time. And, Columbus would get the benefit of a flukey bounce to tie the game. Jakub Voracek found the puck down low, and threw it through the crease area. It caromed off the skate of Phoenix defenseman Michal Rozsival and into the back of net at 18:22. In the span of three minutes and 32 seconds, the Jackets had tied it, and were 2-for-2 on the Power Play.
Enter Calvert. The rookie has earned more and more ice time, especially with injuries to forwards Derick Brassard and Kristian Huselius. This was Calvert’s 20th NHL game, and he made it extra memorable, potting three straight goals for the natural hat trick. His first came on the Power Play (that’s three!) just 2:37 into the second period, as he ripped a shot that deflected off a Coyotes’ defenseman and found its way past Bryzgalov. It was Calvert’s second goal, however, that gave a hint that it was going to be his night. The combo of Calvert, Umberger, and MacKenzie were again on display, as they worked to keep the puck in the Phoenix zone, and then Calvert performed a little magic: as he whirled in from the right wing, the puck rolled off his stick, deflected and went airborne, and then Calvert batted it out of midair past Bryzgalov to make it 4-2 Columbus, just nine minutes into the second period.
Which meant: Calvert had 31 minutes to get the hat trick.
Just 3:27 into the third, Calvert would bring down the house. The Jackets and Calvert had a couple of shots, and after Phoenix failed to clear the puck, Jan Hejda set the kid up perfectly. He waited an extra second as he drifted down to let Calvert get free on the doorstep. Hejda fed the puck, and Calvert’s first attempt was denied. But, it was his night. The puck came right back to his stick, and he roofed it over a sprawled out defenseman. It was 5-2 Jackets, and the hats came flying.
Calvert looked truly moved by the extended celebration from the fans, and it was a moment he will remember for the rest of his life. “I was just standing there, and the camera was on me, and it stayed on me,” Calvert said. “I looked up and I was on the Jumbotron, and the hats kept coming. My teammates congratulated me. It was a special feeling, one I’ll never forget.” There was actually a point where the Jackets’ PA announcer had to ask the fans to stop throwing hats, lest they earn a 5-minute penalty.
As great a night as it was for Calvert, it was an even bigger night for the Jackets. They are now 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, and have picked up 17 points over that span. Left for dead back in mid-January, the Jackets are now just two points out of a playoff spot. They have also played the fewest number of games in the Western Conference. In other words, they control their own destiny, now. And, with the way they’ve been playing, they look poised to make a serious run to the playoffs. Their probability continues to climb.
There is also now just one more game for the Jackets before the NHL trading deadline on Monday. It also begins a huge five-game road trip for Columbus, and a stretch into March and April that includes their last 22 games in the span of 42 days. The trip begins on Sunday in Nashville, and moves through Western Canada, and finishes in St. Louis. The Jackets realistically need about 26 points to really consider having a shot. In 22 games, that’s totally possible now.
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Photo Credits:
on ice: AP Photo/Jay LaPrete
pucks: Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images