Sharks 3, Blue Jackets 2
(box) – Highlights
CBJ: 26-23-5, 57 pts
If the Jackets are to be taken seriously as playoff contenders this spring, they need to put strings of wins and points together, and they need to do it consistently. Columbus came into tonight’s contest against the red-hot Sharks winners of three straight, and with 14 points in their last 10 games. Both teams were playing their second game in as many nights, and in different cities.
The Jackets needed to get off to a good start to continue the momentum they’d built in their last three games. And that they did. They outhustled the Sharks, and used their usually-docile Power Play to do some early damage. But this one would come down to the third period as each team dominated a period over the first two. And it would come down to a late goal.
The Jackets’ Special Teams were the story in the first period, as Derick Brassard would take a questionable roughing call just 2:27 in. At 23%, the Sharks came into the game as the fourth-best Power Play unit in the league. The Jackets had none of it, however, and killed the penalty off without any real threats. And then, ironically enough, it was the Jackets’ 28th-ranked Power Play that did the most damage in the period.
Dany Heatley would take an interference penalty at the 8:35 mark, and the Jackets would struggle to get their PP going. But, after some nice work to get the puck to Kristian Huselius on the right wing, he cruised to the circle and let loose a wrister that went through a defenseman’s legs, through RJ Umberger’s legs camped in front of the net, and past Sharks’ goalie Antti Niemi at the 9:35 mark to make it 1-0 Columbus.
The Jackets’ Power Play wasn’t done. After Ben Eager took a cross checking penalty at the 18:23 mark, it looked like the Jackets would cruise into the intermission up by one. But, after some good cycling work down low, Derick Brassard fed the puck to Fedor Tyutin at the right point. Tyutin fed it across to Grant Clitsome, who worked over to the left circle and unleashed his howitzer shot on Niemi. The puck snuck into the upper right corner of the net with just 9.0 seconds left in the period. That deflating goal would allow the Jackets to take a 2-0 lead into the dressing room at the break. “A big focus of our Power Play was to get shots on net,” Clitsome said. “I think we accomplished that today. We got two goals on the Power Play, and the Power Plays where we didn’t score we had a lot of shots on net.”
However, that deflation would be short-lived: the Sharks would come out in the second period and take over. They would out-shoot the Jackets 12-3 over the first half or so of the period, and would again test the Jackets’ PK unit. But, it was the Jackets getting sloppy with the puck and seeming to run out of gas a bit that was the factor in the second period. It got started early on, as some failures to clear would haunt them. The puck would find Sharks’ defenseman Kent Huskins at the left point, and he would almost float a shot on net that made its way through several screens and past Mason to make the score 2-1 just 1:56 into the period. It was Huskins’ first goal of the season. “The first goal, Mase didn’t see it,” Arniel said, “and [the Sharks] got the momentum from there.”
The Jackets weathered the rest of the onslaught, and got some things going again as the period progressed, but it was again careless and flat-footed play with the puck in their own end that would cost them at the 13:39 mark. Columbus could not get the puck secured and cleared away from their crease, and it bounced to the stick of Kyle Wellwood, who put it past Mason to tie it up. The Jackets would shore it up enough to make it to the dressing room even at two. But, an improved effort would be needed in the third period if they wanted to come out of this one with a win.
The effort was there; sadly, the result was not. The third period came down to a difference of “quantity versus quality” as the Jackets laid out shot after shot, but couldn’t get one past Niemi. Conversely, the Sharks had just nine shots in the period, but made them count. At 15:09 off of a draw in the Columbus zone, Patrick Marleau fired a shot from the circle that managed to sneak through Steve Mason’s short side. It was 3-2 Sharks, and the Jackets had no answer. “We gave ourselves a chance to win the hockey game,” coach Arniel said. It’s disappointing.” His Captain Rick Nash was a bit more blunt: “In the second period, [the Sharks] seemed to take it to us and take over the game.”
Despite the result, the Jackets did have some positives to take away: their special teams were great in this game, scoring two Power Play goals in four chances and keeping the 4th ranked PP unit scoreless in three tries. They continued to play solid, physical hockey as they outhit the Sharks 40 to 17. They jumped out to a nice lead early.
But, it was the mental aspects of the game that had Arniel a bit miffed afterward: “Tonight was one of those mental games, and the guys were a little bit tired at times. Mentally we weren’t real sharp with some of our assignments. That’s part of what this big push is all the way home: it’s going to be 50% mental and 50% physical. When you don’t feel like you have your legs, it’s about making sure you do the right things and making the right decisions.”
Kristian Huselius seconded that: “Obviously, it looked like we didn’t have the energy in the second and third. When you get tired, you make the mental errors, and that’s what happened in the second and third and couldn’t come back after that.”
Well, here’s hoping they can put this one behind them. The Jackets are right back at it again on Friday, again at Nationwide Arena. The Colorado Avalanche come calling. So far, the Jackets are 0-2 vs. the Avs, and have been outscored 10-2 over those two games. Colorado and Columbus are neck and neck in the standings, so a win would be crucial for Columbus if they’re serious about making the playoffs. No plans on Friday? Grab some tickets!
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Photo Credit: AP Photo/Terry Gilliam