More 3rd Period Woes: Columbus Blue Jackets Fall to Bruins

The third period has not been kind to the Columbus Blue Jackets lately, and tonight’s game was no exception.

The Jackets played a solid first period, scoring two goals off the stick of Ryan Johansen and the back of Nick Foligno. The Jackets played an up-tempo, gritty game in the first, and it worked. They played the style of hockey they need to play if they want to win games. They looked like the Jackets we know and love, not the ones we have seen too much of lately. It was good.

The problem is, they can’t play a 60-minute game. The second period was okay, but not great. The Jackets started it ahead 11-8 in shots and 2-1 on the scoreboard. They got the first power play of the night in the second period, but were only able to register one shot and no goals.

By the end of the second, the Jackets had ceded the lead in shots to the Bruins, and found themselves trailing 21-18 in shots and on a penalty kill. A lazy holding penalty by Johansen meant the Jackets would start the third period up two goals but down one man.

They managed to kill off the penalty, but it went downhill from there. They gave up a goal just a minute and twenty-eight seconds into the period. Then they went on the power play themselves, but only got off one shot yet again. It was disappointing. Then, within two minutes, the Jackets gave up two more goals and found themselves down 3-2.

What happened? The game seemed to be going so well, and then it was as if the Jackets just decided to quit playing! They stopped showing up, and gave up three quick goals. The third period has been a tough one for the Jackets, and they’re going to have to figure out what the problem is and fix it soon, or they might not be able to salvage this season.

Anyway, the third period wasn’t a total loss. Jack Johnson came up big with 7 minutes to go, scoring his first goal of the season and tying the game. After the week he had, it was nice to see him net such a crucial goal and salvage what was left of the game for his team.

Johnson’s goal carried the team into overtime, which  they managed to make it through despite some questionable play. The Jackets only managed one shot on goal in overtime, and spent the majority of the time in their own zone blocking shots. The Bruins only got three shots through, all of which were saved by Bob, but they spent a considerable amount of time on offense in overtime.

Then, of course, there was the shootout. The Bruins and the Jackets traded shots for SEVEN ROUNDS. It was thoroughly a goalie’s game in the shootout, with both Sergei Bobrovsky and Niklas Svedberg stopping shots though six rounds. The Jackets, despite their best efforts, couldn’t put one past Svedberg, and it took the Bruins seven shooters and one fancy rookie to get past Bob, winning the shootout and the game 4-3.

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• The Mike Babcock Experiment in Columbus Has Failed
• Blue Jacket Prospects Win Traverse City Tournament: Who Stood Out?
• Mike Babcock Resigns as CBJ Head Coach: Reaction
• New Claims Bring Higher Level of Concern to Babcock Situation

Overall, the first two periods were great for the Jackets. The first was the type of play I want to see from them all year long, and the second wasn’t bad. But they have a lot of work to do in the third. Somehow, this team needs to find a way to play all sixty minutes every night. That’s the only way they are going to win games, short and simple. Play a full game every night. An awesome first period is great, but if you give up three quick goals in the third it just isn’t going to happen. Here’s hoping tomorrow night is better.